The Good Heart
by misa1
Summary: Jack and Sally face a troubling obstacle to their union. Rated M for mature themes and some fluffy stuff. If you don't like that, then don't read this. Life is simple, ne? Complete.
1. How we get to where we are

_Author's note: I suppose this is more of preview than anything. I am completely rewriting a 10 or 11 year old nmbc fanfic of mine and this is the result. I'm primarily posting it here because once I post something I make a commitment to myself to get it finished. I've been having some issues with my writing as of late and I want to force myself to snap out of it. In any case, this one might take me awhile. A long while. I apologize in advance if the updates come slow as molasses in January. As per usual, all disclaimers apply. I am just a fan. Please don't sue me as I make absolutely nothing off of any of this. Great thanks to the creators of these wonderful characters.   
_

1The Good Heart

_This can't continue, the doctor thought. She'll never last. If it was something I could just mend or repair, that would one thing but this is a larger problem. A larger problem owing to a dearth of supplies, of course. It's not Igor's problem, but even so I think he could have done better. Surely an old man like myself can't go rummaging for these things. What to do...what to do..._

Jack Skellington lay awake on one edge of the narrow bed in his tower. His bones rested lightly against a soft form arranged beside him. His heart, and his future, perched on more uncertain boundary.

For as long as he had reigned as the famous Pumpkin King, Jack had done so alone. Alone, save for his dog Zero. Jack rarely gave the matter much thought. There was always so much work to be done, so much scaring and terrifying. Once in a blue moon someone would ask him if he'd met any nice female monsters lately. Jack laughed the question off as if the very idea were preposterous. _ I barely have enough personal time to keep my sanity, let alone to entertain thoughts of a romantic nature,_ he often grumbled to himself. It didn't help that prospects in that area were decidedly slim, an obvious obstacle, but even had that not been the case, Jack had no idea what kind of girl he would want. Halloweentown women had all certainly tried to catch their king's heart, but he was unresponsive. They just weren't right for him. Years before, in his wilder days, Jack courted many of the best female ghouls and sirens passing through Halloweentown. Back then, the idea of finding a queen to rule by his side hadn't seemed like such a pointless mission. None of his past affairs had lasted very long. It used to discourage him greatly, but now he knew he hadn't really wanted them to. He had never felt what others called "being in love"—until now.

Jack blinked in the darkness. Sally slept soundly beside him, her long red hair spilling in tangled waves over a bare, stitched shoulder. Sally was his dearest friend. She was his confidant, counselor, house-mate, and lover. Jack's thoughts wandered, reviewing events of the past several months.

Sally had come to Jack's home after that most fateful Christmas Eve disaster. A new spark between the Pumpkin King and the soft spoken rag doll was obvious to both of them, but neither anticipated anything more from that evening then a quiet sharing of space. Sitting side by side in Jack's room, Sally uttered a confession regarding her use of fog juice. In turn, Jack expressed a rather overdue mea culpa for his obliviousness. Each had been immensely relieved at the other's acceptance. More comfortable, they decided to try another kiss, since the first on spiral hill had gone so well. The second kiss was another unqualified success. There seemed little reason to stop there. Pure joy, a measure of giddy exhaustion, plus glasses of mulled wine, lead to the pair waking up nose to nose in Jack's bed on Christmas morning. Jack had stammered, trying to think of something to say.

"The doctor," he blurted. "Will he be terribly worried? You've been gone all night after all." He asked this even though he knew the answer. Jack had seen the old man's new creation wheeling him across the snowy square the previous night. Sally simply bit her lip and shook her head. She pulled the wool blanket more tightly around her, peeking timidly over the edge.

"Do you still live with him?", Jack asked, frowning. Another silent "no". He continued.

"Where do you live now, Sally?"

An awkward discussion then unfolded between the new couple. Sally had no where to live anymore. That wasn't right, so why shouldn't she stay in Jack's home? It was quite large after all. Even if they hadn't done what they had done, wouldn't it still have been a completely natural thing to offer a friend who had no where else to go?

"Even if we weren't what we are now, I would still say you should stay here.", Jack reasoned. There are many bedrooms in the main portion of the house. It's quite conceivable that you could live here and we'd never even cross paths most days."

Sally tilted her head, untangling his words. She sat up, still careful to remain under the blanket. She pulled her knees to her chest. Finally, she asked:

"Jack? What are we now?"

"We're in love.", Jack answered after a beat. Sally had smiled at that. She relaxed her death grip on the blanket, if only a little bit, and allowed Jack to take her hand. That was how Sally had come to live with him. She never did get around to choosing her own room, a detail that didn't bother Jack in the least.

Jack's thoughts returned to the present as Sally stirred in her sleep. Her eyes opened slowly.

"Hello.", Jack whispered. The ragdoll blinked. She reached out a small hand toward his ribs, feeling blindly in the darkness. Jack touched her cheek. He glanced over her at a sliver of white light seeping in between the curtains.

"Hang on a moment, Sally."

Jack slid his fingertips across her shoulder as he left the bed. It was a bit of courtesy he had picked up to accommodate his love since she lacked nocturnal sight. He pulled a curtain cord. The fabric panels split neatly, revealing a bright, clear, sky. Silver moonlight flooded the tower. Jack grinned.

"Oh, look at this night!" He motioned for Sally to join him by the window. She complied, leaving the bed slowly as it always took a moment to find her balance after just waking up. Upon reaching Jack's side, Sally exhaled with wonder at the sky.

"That's the king, Cephus," Jack said, pointing to a five star constellation. "And if you follow the king...there is the queen, Cassiopeia. Every king needs a queen, don't you agree?"

Jack realized what he had said the moment it left his mouth. Unable to think of a follow-up, he simply smiled. Sally looked up at him, a hint of surprise in her expression. She returned the smile, leaning into his shoulder.

"I love you," Sally whispered. Jack said nothing, but leaned in and kissed her in response. He wished they could have all the time in the world to stand here by the window, admiring the heavens. Wish as he might, Jack knew that morning would come soon enough, as it always did. He enjoyed his work immensely, but these past months with Sally had revealed a number of preferable diversions. Still, such was life. After all, Halloweentown had lost two months of holiday planning because of his failed Christmas, which put them considerably behind schedule.

"Oh well.", Jack sighed. "Though it pains me to say, I suppose we should get back to bed...and by bed I mean sleep.", he added firmly. Sally giggled at that. Jack pulled the curtains closed once more, overlapping the ends to seal out light. He took Sally's hand, leading her back to bed. They climbed in beside one another and she curled close against his ribs. She wrapped her legs around his reed-thin frame. Jack laughed in the darkness.

"You could be the destruction of Halloween, Sally. You know that don't you?"

"Don't say that Jack.", she said. "Though, it's what they all think."

"I was only teasing love. No one thinks that in any case."

Sally didn't answer, only breathed a small, uncertain noise. Jack rubbed her back.

"Anyone who thinks that is mistaken. Time will correct them. No worries, Sally." Sally sighed once more, but with contentment. Jack felt her body grow heavy against him as she fell into a deep sleep. A short distance away, Zero looked up from his basket. Jack smiled at the ghost dog. Like most dogs, Zero took the smile as an invitation. He floated to the bed and draped his little diaphanous body across Jack's feet.

"What do you think of her boy?", Jack whispered. "She's lovely isn't she? Soft, and gentle, and kind...and so smart. I think life's been wonderful since she's been here with us." Jack paused for a moment. More to himself than to Zero he asked: "What if Sally were to live here forever? If this were really her home? What if Sally were to become my..."

Zero wagged a corner of his sheet. Jack frowned. The thought of marriage terrified him, but not nearly as much as the sudden thought of his existance without Sally. He just couldn't picture her anywhere else. He couldn't imagine a night without her wrapped around him, or a morning waking up alone, just he and Zero setting out for another day of Halloween work with no one to come home to. In an instant, his mind was made up. This had to be done right. Sally's sewing bag hung from the bedpost on her side. Stretching so as not to wake her, Jack moved his long arm across the ragdoll's body. He reached into the bag and removed a small spool of thread. Breaking off a short length of the thread, Jack slipped it around Sally's finger forming a loop. He then removed the loop and knotted it. Jack smiled at the tiny circle for a moment. He placed the item on the floor where it would be easily retrieved in the morning. He kissed Sally once more, then settled into sleep.


	2. A Morning Bad and Good

1

Across the town square, in Doctor Finklestein's elliptically structured home, the old man scowled at a bowl of ice cold, half-cooked oatmeal. Igor was an adequate laboratory assistant but a pathetic excuse for a cook. The doctor's estranged creation Sally had been an excellent cook almost from the start, most likely owing to some pre-existing aptitude in her brain. Jewel, Sally's replacement, was not such a natural, but had been coming along. Coming along, that is, until the problems began. She slipped into unconsciousness frequently. Doctor Finklestein initially saw that as little more than a glitch, some minor malfunction which would rectify itself in short order. As the weeks turned to months, he realized that something more critical was amiss. The woman was weak, barely able to get through preparing a meal without faltering or needing a rest. Housecleaning of the intensity that he preferred was practically impossible for her. Being that Jewel shared a brain with the old man, he had no reason to suspect that was the problem. No, it had to be elsewhere in her construction. Finally, Dr. Finklestein cleared one evening of other work and set about to determine the cause of Jewel's illness. He found the problem by process of intensive exploratory surgery. Her heart was malformed within. This morning she lay on the exam table, immobile. Temporarily "switched off" as it were. The doctor stabbed a tarnished spoon into his breakfast.

"I would send you looking for a replacement Igor, but seeing that mess who knows what you would come back with.", he growled. "I am at a loss. She can be fixed of course, and I shall fix her, but blast this nuisance of a problem! I'm too old to go gallivanting through potter's fields and you're obviously useless!"

"Biscuit?", Igor asked

"Absolutely not! No biscuit!"

Igor sniffled.

Morning found Sally content. She stretched under the blankets, basking in security and warmth. During her life with Dr. Finklestein, Sally had been required to rise before the sun. She began chores even before the old man was out of bed himself. Jack made no such demands of her, in fact he made no demands at all. He was utterly confused those first weeks of their cohabitation when Sally would awaken in the dark, no matter how late or pleasantly sleepless the night. She'd leave their bed, intent on performing some apparently urgent task. She scrubbed floors, washed the cracked window panes, mended every fray, moth hole, and loose button she could find in Jack's clothing. As puzzling as her behavior was to Jack, Sally was equally bewildered by his insistence that she relax. They eventually reached a happy compromise. Now, Sally slept in from time to time, though to her it remained the height of decadence.

She turned onto her back, looking up at the irregularly placed wooden beams spanning the octagonal ceiling.

"It's real", she whispered. "Really real."

Sally murmured those words to herself every morning like a mantra. She stood from the bed, steadied herself for a moment, then dressed. She combed her hair, a formidable task in itself, then selected a tiny square box from her drawer of the dresser. Her necklace. Before putting it on, Sally laid the pendant in her center of her hand. She smiled. Yet another gift from the Pumpkin King, it was a small silver heart surrounding a blue stone. A star-sapphire Jack had called it. Sally placed the necklace around her neck and secured the clasp. She climbed down from the tower with no small amount of difficulty. The rest of the staircases in Jack's home were relatively easy for her, but those twisting spiral steps were a trial. Before heading out into town Sally performed yet another daily ritual. One hand on the doorknob, she paused, placed her hand to the silver necklace, and took a deep breath.


	3. Notes on a Halloween Scandal

1

To say that Sally was disliked, or even unpopular, in Halloweentown would not be wholly accurate. If one had asked every monster and ghoul in the vicinity what they thought of her, one would have gotten a variety of answers running the gamut from "Jack's nice girlfriend" to "Jack's accursed whore." The responses would have tended, for the most part, to fall along gender lines. Oddly enough, if one were to have taken the same poll a week before that pivotal Christmas, most would have answered "Sally who?"

The last thing on Sally's mind that Christmas morning was how the town might react. Despite the adult nature of her evening with Jack, she remained an innocent in most ways. Jack hadn't considered the matter much either. He exited his house as he had so many other mornings, but then looked back inside and beckoned. Smiling, Sally took his hand and followed him out to the square. The band members, who had been playing a jaunty dirge, squeaked to sudden silence. Holiday preparations ground to a halt. Jaws dropped. While Sally hadn't understood the reaction, Jack realized his naivete almost immediately. Everyone had seen him walk Sally into his house the previous night. Now he was walking her out the following morning. He hadn't counted on his townsfolk to put two and two together so quickly, but it seemed that they had. Halloweentown was unique in many ways, but this was not one of them. The remainder of the day saw Jack deflecting questions and enduring pats on the back from his male constituents. Initially gleeful, they soon grumbled with disappointment at his refusal to divulge even a single word. The Mayor had been just about the only male unhappy from the start. He revolved to panic at the first sight of the couple in question and remained that way for the rest of the day. While Jack's day had been tedious, Sally's had been practically unbearable. It's one thing not to be spoken to because you aren't even seen, but quite another to endure silence accompanied by the most hostile of glares. Hostile from the women in any event. The men now looked at her too but in an entirely different way.

So things remained, everyday the same to varying degrees. Each morning Sally steeled herself, took a breath, and touched her locket before heading outside. Today was no exception. At the manor gate, she glanced across the square hoping to catch sight of Jack. By his side, she was safe. Facing the town square alone was a peril of sleeping late. Jack was nowhere to be seen. Sally straightened her dress, raised her chin, and walked defiantly to her sewing area. She settled at her machine, and went to work replacing the red linings for the vampires' capes. The old ones were worn and threadbare from countless nights of blood searching.

In another part of town, Jack was indeed busy. He was hard at work on his own project that had little to do with the holiday. He arrived at the workshop of the Behemoth. The Behemoth was Halloween's best artisan for things wood and metal, as well as the only one in town who could make pumpkins grow to near mythical proportions. The Behemoth was a man of few words. Whether this had anything to do with the large ax permanently imbedded in his skull was unclear. He was surprised to see Jack again so soon, as he had just completed a funny shaped, little, silver, necklace for him several weeks earlier. Jack seemed to be slightly nervous, but in a happy mood just the same. He approached the work table and placed the small circle of thread before the Behemoth. Jack spoke:

"I need a ring."

The Behemoth examined the thread in his massive fingers.

"That's the size I need," said Jack.

"Tiny," said the Behemoth. "For machine?"

Jack scratched his skull.

"Well, no. It's not a machine part. It's for Sally. Actually, it's an en-," he stopped himself. "It's a jewelry ring, you know?"

The Behemoth nodded.

"Fancy?" he asked. Jack thought for a moment. Sally certainly deserved the best, but she wasn't one for decoration.

"Not too fancy. But beautiful. Perfect. And with a setting for a stone."

The Behemoth nodded again, and began measuring the thread. Jack patted him on the back and turned to leave. He stopped for a moment at the door. "Don't breathe a word of this, my friend. And, if all goes well, I'll be commissioning two more rings from you!" With that, Jack was off. The Behemoth watched him go with absolutely no idea what he was up to. Jack was a mystery at times.

Two doors down the street, mysterious Jack dropped in on the witches in their general store and apothecary.

"Hello ladies!", he called upon entering. The witches were beside themselves with joy. A visit from Jack! They stood on either side of him hugging his legs. He had been a regular fixture in their store before Sally came along, but they'd seen comparatively little of him since then. Sally was adept at formulating most things he might need, given her ability with herbs and potions.

"Oh Jack! What can we do for you? Sit down! We'll get you something to eat or drink! whatever you want!"

Jack gingerly tried to extricate himself from their hands. His skull pondered the immeasurable behavior differences between females.

"Ah, no. Don't trouble yourselves with food or drink. I just came by to ask a favor."

The smaller witch remained ecstatic.

"Anything Jack!"

The taller of the two exclaimed:

"We're so honored you would choose us to help you Jack. Us in particular," she added rather pointedly.

"Well, you two are really the only ones who can. I need a diamond. I was hoping you could make one for me."

"A diamond?" the tall witch said. "Diamonds are just wonderful for saws and blades. They'll go through anything. However, if you're making a blade I'd recommend diamond dust."

Jack shook his skull.

"It's not for a blade. It's for more of an ornamental use, I guess you could say."

The witches were perplexed. Diamonds were ugly and sparkly. Wouldn't he rather an onyx or bloodstone? Jack noted their confusion, but said nothing. He wasn't about to share news of his plans with them. He knew how they felt about Sally. His chances of getting a pristine diamond for the ring were much better if they didn't know who it was for. "It really needs to be a diamond.", Jack pressed.

The pair conferred and said it wouldn't be a problem. Simple chemistry with a little magic for good measure. It would be ready in a day. Jack thanked them profusely and was on his way.

"He asked us to make that for him," sighed the small witch.

"Yes," her friend agreed. "Us. That little rag girl is decent enough with flowers and leaves but she couldn't do anything like this. Maybe he's finally getting sick of her."

The sewing machine clicked away without pause all morning and on until lunch. Sally lost herself in the work. Her thoughts were finally interrupted when the witches walked by with the Mayor. He was checking in with them about their holiday work.

"We'll be a little behind schedule this week, Mayor. We're doing a very special personal favor for Jack," one of them said loudly. Sally wrinkled her nose but continued sewing.

"They do that to bother you. You're smart enough to know that much, aren't you?", said a feminine, yet strangely deep, voice. Sally jumped like a scared animal. She swiveled to her right side. The fishgal gazed at her expectantly. She had never spoken to Sally before. She was a frequent companion of the witches and that fact alone was enough to make the ragdoll want to hide. Still, Sally composed herself and turned back to the sewing machine.

"I know.", Sally said nonchalantly.

"Alright then. I wasn't certain that you did. I was told that you aren't very smart, but then, I thought to myself, you would have to be at least a little bit smart."

The fishgal's tone was almost thoughtful at this. She scratched lightly at her chin with a filmy, flipper hand. Sally gaped for an instant before asking:

"Why?"

The fishgal rolled her yellowy eyes.

"Well, you figured out what Jack wanted, didn't you?."

"I-I...I didn't...", Sally stammered. The fishgal closed her eyes and held up a hand in deference.

"I don't judge. Some others, they judge. I don't." She sighed and made a vague gesture to Sally's body. "The doctor said that's pretty much all you've got going for you. Not that it matters. Turns out, that was all you needed. You used what you had, and you got what we all want." The creature nodded resolutely. "Fair play to you", she sniffed, then disappeared into the fountain. Sally stared at the water for several seconds wondering if the fishgal was going to reemerge, but she did not. The conversation, such as it was, was over.


	4. What News?

_Author's note: Hi all. I'm having a writing night at Starbucks this evening, thus here be chapter 4. Huge thank yous, to the yous that reviewed (that's fun to say!)._

Having finished his tasks with both the Behemoth and the witches, Jack returned to the day to day business of preparing for next Halloween. His brain overflowed with new ideas. He couldn't imagine how he had ever felt tired of this job. Fright was his _raison d'etre!_ Fright and... Jack grinned. He caught sight of Sally at her machine, sewing a red satin lining to one of the capes. He started toward her, but was stopped mid-stride by the Mayor.

"Jack! Do you have a moment? I could use some help here!"

Lock, Shock and Barrel followed behind the corpulent politician, The children grinned mischievously. Since the demise of their master, Oogie Boogie, they spent much more time in town. The tree-house was boring by comparison with no one there to bother, or play tricks on, but themselves. Jack glanced back at Sally before turning his attention to the worried Mayor.

"I do have a moment, but only just. Is there something I can help you with Mayor?"

"Yes! I need help with these three right here! Can't we give them something to do? Something other than following me around all day?"

Jack smiled at that. He scratched his chin, studying the children.

"Perhaps it's high time that you three pitched in around here. It's your holiday too after all, isn't it?"

The Mayor spun to delight at Jack's reaction. The children exchanged baleful glances. Jack continued:

"Give me a small while to think of appropriate jobs. Soon, I'll have you so busy, you won't know how you ever filled your days before!" The trio frowned in unison.

Sally replayed the fishgal's words over and over in her head. Finally looking up from her machine, she was pleased to see Jack crossing the square in her direction. Sally was grateful for his company, even if they wouldn't be alone. Jack was followed closely by the Mayor and that odd little trio of trick or treaters. Once at her side, Jack picked up one of the completed capes and held it out for the rest of the group to see. The Mayor was impressed.

"Sally! Those are just wonderful! Why, the vampires will be absolutely thrilled with - " He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the way Jack and Sally were smiling at one another in a most un-halloween-like fashion. Sally gazed up at the Pumpkin King through her eyelashes. Jack sighed happily and breathed a soft giggle. The Mayor's worried frown snapped firmly back into place. Since when had Jack Skellington, the terrible, horrible, Pumpkin King, ever _giggled_? Lock and Shock elbowed each other, smirking, while Barrel remained absorbed in a bag of candy-corn. The Mayor cleared his throat. It was a small, and rather futile, attempt to remain the focal point of this conversation. Not noticing his colleague's discomfort, Jack spoke to his ragdoll:

"The capes are beautiful Sally. You always do such fantastic work. Have you eaten anything yet today?"

She shook her head.

"No. I was waiting for you. I thought we could have lunch together."

"That is wonderful. I'll come back for you in just a few minutes when I've finished the end of my rounds. We'll go to the cemetery."

Sally nodded, her eyes dreamy. Jack gave her a chaste kiss and touched her cheek before walking away, his little entourage in tow.

As Jack and company strolled towards the town hall, the Mayor weighed how to bring up his growing concern about Jack and Sally. The last thing he wanted to do was put Jack on the defensive, or pry into personal matters, but he couldn't help wonder exactly what were Jack's intentions? There were so many rumors floating through town. Surely, they couldn't actually be...could they? The very thought struck him as horrific beyond all reason. That kind of thing could infect someone's brain, cause distraction, wrong priorities, and besides all that, it was just NOT a very 'Halloween' thing to do. The Mayor stopped rather suddenly and turned to the trio.

"It's getting late. Why don't you three just go home? We'll meet up again in the morning."

"I thought we were going into the hall to get some new assignments," said Lock. Jack looked questioningly at the Mayor who shooed the three back in the direction of their tree house.

"Oh, just take the evening off! I'll have plenty for you to do tomorrow."

Lock, Shock, and Barrel exchanged exaggerated shrugs, then skipped away towards their home to do Heaven knows what. Jack was confused. He had been in agreement with the Mayor that those three should have as little free time as possible. What good could it do to send them home where they would be left to their own devices?

"What do we have to go over? What on Earth is wrong?", Jack asked.

The Mayor sighed. Sometimes it was a curse to be so two-faced. He could never hide dismay or worry no matter how hard he tried. He pulled Jack into the empty town hall by his boney elbow.

"Sit down, Jack. I need to talk to you."

Jack shrugged and sat down on one of the benches. The Mayor gathered his resolve before plunging ahead.

"Jack, everyone in town is talking about you and Sally. What exactly is going on? Now, I can understand you want your privacy, but you could at least be honest with me! How, er, _serious_ are you two getting?"

Jack looked rather amused.

"It isn't affecting my work, is it?" he asked innocently. The Mayor shook his head.

"Heavens no, not yours. You're a professional. You're the master! But, it sure seems to be distracting everyone else."

"Ah. Then perhaps you should speak to them, Mayor. If that's all, I think I'll take my lunch now. Don't worry, I won't be long."

"You are the king," sighed the Mayor, defeated already. Jack stood and laughed. He patted the Mayor on the his back.

"Don't worry, Mayor. If there's news, you'll be the first one I tell."

"Thank you, Jack." The Mayor was relieved. How considerate. Wait a minute, he thought, what news? What news could there possibly be?

"JACK?" he called out the hall door. "WHAT NEWS?"

Jack turned on his heel still grinning, but did not answer.


	5. A Ring and a Promise

1_Anudder chappy. They are coming more rapidly right now then they will in the future, because I haven't gotten to the point in the story where there is more of a major rehaul from what I had before. On an unrelated note, anyone going to Katsucon? It's a week away, woo Enjoy chapter 5_

The following morning, Jack sat at a table in the witches' home, surrounded by diamonds. There were dozens of them sprinkled over the tattered table cloth as if they were no more than pebbles. Every one was faceted and gleaming.

"You two have gone above and beyond what I requested," remarked Jack.

"They're easy enough to make.", said the small witch.

"And since you didn't say exactly what you needed the diamond for, I thought we should give you choices.", finished the other witch.

"We BOTH thought that!" the little witch interjected.

Jack sorted through the stones as the witches vied for his attention. They hovered around him, thrilled at his rapt interest in things they had created.

Jack held a jewel between his spidery fingers. It was one of the larger ones, twice the size of a cherry stone. This one is divine, thought Jack. Divine, if she would wear it. Sally was shy and very modest. A born showman himself, Jack found Sally's shyness difficult to understand. He wasn't entirely certain the cause of her introversion, but blamed some of it on the Doctor. She was much less timid than she had been, but even so, a stone this size just wasn't her. Jack dropped the large diamond back in the pile. As it landed, a smaller one bounced from under it and sat directly before him. He picked it up.

"This one is different." Jack said.

"Oh, that was an early one. The color isn't right. Diamonds do come in different tones, but that isn't a good example," said the tall witch.

"If you like blue, we've got better than that, see?" The smaller witch held up a brilliant royal blue diamond. Jack looked again at the one in his hand. It was blue as well, but quite pale.

"No. I like this one," he said. "It's perfect."

The witches, though pleased that Jack had found something, hoped he would select a better example of their work. If the King was seen with such a boring, little, diamond, what if people asked where he got it? Their conjuring reputations were on the line. The taller witch tried again to dissuade him.

"Jack, that one is so tiny. If you must have that weak color, at least let us make you a larger one."

Jack shook his skull.

"Large can be overwhelming. This size is right." In truth, the diamond was more than respectable by everyday standards. The witches didn't know what else to say. Love him as they did, there was no accounting for Jack's taste. He did like that Christmas business after all.

"Pale blue," murmured the smaller witch.

_So is Sally,_ Jack thought happily as he rolled the diamond in his hand. He put it into his pocket.

"Have you seen Sally lately Jack?", asked the taller witch in a tone too intentionally casual. Jack looked up with a start, wondering if she had read his thoughts. Besides, it was an odd question. Just about everyone in town knew Sally lived with him these days.

"Yes. This morning.", Jack answered. "I believe she's out in the square today." The witch nodded.

"Doctor Finklestein is looking for her. He asked if we knew where she could be found. We told him we surely had no idea, but that you might know, of course. The old thing doesn't get out much these days. He has no one to help him - aside from Igor, that is."

Jack was puzzled.

"He has his new creation doesn't he? She's come into town with him before."

"She's terribly ill. He isn't even sure whether he can fix her.", said the small witch.

"...And that's unusual for the doctor to admit he can't do something!", added her companion with a laugh. "Anyway, just tell Sally that he needs to speak with her. He said it's very important."

Jack nodded graciously. He rose from the table.

"Thank you both so much for the diamond. I can't tell you how important this is to me right now, but I promise you'll understand soon! Thank you, again!"

"Anytime you need anything Jack! Anything at all!" they called after him. Jack touched the tiny bump in his vest pocket as he walked away down the street.

Jack was almost to the Behemoth's door to pick up the ring when he noticed the Mayor. Once again, the poor man wasn't alone. Lock and Barrel trotted behind him. Lock was entertaining himself by repeating everything the Mayor said in a mocking, sing-song voice.

"Please, PLEASE, go away! Stop following me!", the Mayor whined.

"Please, PLEASE, go away! Stop following me!", giggled Lock.

Barrel laughed and clutched his stomach. Jack tried to suppress his own amusement at the scene. The Mayor looked at him helplessly.

"Jack! Could you spare some time to tutor one of these delinquents?"

"I have a fairly full day today...", Jack said. He looked down at the little devil and ghoul. "Where's Shock?"

The Mayor answered for them.

"I have spearheaded the plan to better these three. Splitting them up seemed an excellent idea, so I sent Shock over to Sally. I thought perhaps she could learn to sew or something else useful."

"Well, that's nice.", Jack said slowly. He wondered if Sally might be in need of rescue.

The Mayor grew irritated at Jack's reluctance to take one of the little monsters. Jack was the one that kept insisting on reforming them after all. He tried again.

"Jack, please. Be a mentor! What's the problem? You usually love this kind of stuff!"

Any other day Jack would have been more than happy to help. Today though... today was decidedly not good.

"I have some extra errands to run today," he said.

"So delegate!", hissed the Mayor. "Please?" Jack looked at the children. Talk about the lesser of two evils.

"Take Lock. I can't handle him. If I give the other one enough candy he's quite tractable," the Mayor whispered. Jack relented.

"Alright Lock. You're coming with me." Lock moved beside Jack and the Mayor pulled Barrel off towards the hall. Lock waited until they had gone, then he looked up at Jack. The boy feigned more comfort than he felt being all alone with the Pumpkin King.

"What's the agenda today, Jack? Why're we here?"

"I have to get something from the Behemoth.", Jack sighed. "Listen, Lock. I know from past experience that you're not too bad at secret keeping, yes?"

"This sounds cool," Lock said with an intrigued smile.

"I have some personal business to attend to in here. You are sworn to absolute secrecy. _Absolute_! This means you can't even tell Barrel or Shock. Can you be trusted?"

"What do I get if I don't tell?" Lock wheedled. Jack leaned down close to him. His expression was fearsome. In a quiet hissing voice he said:

"A lifetime of peaceful nights. If you breathe a word, I'll personally make sure you wake up screaming from tonight to the end of time."

"That's fair," said Lock, a small tremor in his voice.

Jack regained his usual friendly composure. He patted the child.

"Good boy."

Shock took a bite of her candy bar. She stood several feet away from the sewing machine watching Sally hem the ghosts' sheets. Shock stared blankly as if she were watching an exhibit at a museum, or perhaps a zoo. The Mayor had deposited her here with the practically no instruction or reason why. Sally glanced up at the girl, her eyes nervous.

"Do you want to learn how to sew?", she asked. Shock made a face.

"I already know how to do that.", she said and took another bite of chocolate. Sally turned the balance wheel slowly towards her as she finished one of the sheets.

"I didn't know you could use a sewing machine.", Sally said.

"I didn't say I can use a machine, but I know how to sew.", Shock corrected. She pulled a small cloth pouch from her pocket. It was crudely sewn together from what looked like old socks. The pieces were lashed to one another with yarn.

"See? I made this for my tiniest firecrackers. That way they don't bump around, and go off accidentally. It's good huh?"

Sally leaned closer and peered at the bag.

"It is. It's very good."

Obviously pleased with the compliment, Shock stuffed the pouch back into her pocket.

"It was hard to make! I kept sticking my fingers. The boys want me to make firecracker bags for them too, but I said nah... I don't want to stick needles in my fingers for them. Do you stick yourself all the time?"

"It doesn't bother me if I do.", Sally said with a shrug. Shock was intrigued.

"No? It doesn't hurt ya?"

"It isn't comfortable, but it doesn't hurt me the way it would someone else. That's just how I am."

"Hm.", Shock breathed.

Sally arranged another translucent sheet on the machine while the little witch finished her candy in silence.

Jack leaned on the table inside the Behemoth's workshop. Lock was a good two feet below and couldn't see what was happening, so he clambered up on a high stool to watch. Jack reached into his pocket and removed the diamond. He set it on a handkerchief on the table top. The Behemoth in turn opened a small drawer and took out the ring. It was white gold, covered with impossibly fine carvings of ivy leaves and vines. There was a hole for the diamond.

"Exquisite!" said Jack. "It's delicate and lovely, and ...oh, it's just so perfect! You're an amazement!"

The Behemoth, shrugged and smiled modestly.

"Can you mount the stone?" Jack asked. The Behemoth nodded and took both ring and stone to his tool box. Lock was thoroughly intrigued.

"Watcha doing, Jack? What's that little ring for? Is it magic?"

Jack laughed.

"I sure hope so."

"C'mon Jack! Tell me the secret! You know I won't tell!", the devil child whined. Jack remained silent. In short order, the Behemoth placed a completed engagement ring on the handkerchief.

"Done, Jack."

The light suddenly dawned on Lock.

"Hey! That's for Sally, huh?" Jack wrapped up the ring in the cloth and put it back in his pocket. "Is it for something special, Jack?" Lock asked.

Jack hugged the Behemoth and thanked him again. He and his small charge then headed out. Lock was desperate to know what was going on.

"Is it for something special?" he asked again. Jack stopped and looked down at Lock. It sure would feel good to tell someone. Someone who wouldn't panic like the Mayor. Someone who would give him more reaction than the Behemoth. Someone who was sure to keep quiet, even through intimidation. Jack lead Lock to a secluded spot near the fountain. Jack looked at him hard, and then said:

"I'm going to propose marriage to Sally. Tonight."

For probably the first time ever, Lock was speechless.

"Whoa, Jack! You're gonna marry her? That's...I mean that is...whoa. She's so, you know, Even I think she's really, really... Wow, this is BIG! Well, congrats Jack."

"I still have to ask her," said Jack. "Now that I've confided in you, remember your promise."

Lock gulped.


	6. Yesand yes, yes, yes, yes

1

Later that evening, Jack Skellington found himself in throes of nervous shivers and fear. I wonder if this is how all those humans feel?, he asked himself. Jitters aside, he felt ready to ask Sally for her hand. She was home before him. Jack found her sitting on a couch in the parlor, working with a large needle and black thread. A pile of his socks rested beside her. Jack cleared his throat.

"Sally, you and I need to talk tonight. We are going to have a very special dinner, as I have something quite important-" He stopped mid-sentence. "What are you doing to my socks?"

"I'm fixing them. See? No more holes."

Sally held up a sock for him to inspect. Jack laughed.

"Wow. You are something. Sally, once again, you realize that you don't need to do these things, don't you? I appreciate it, of course, but...you're not a servant. I'd be just as pleased to find you sitting here relaxing."

Sally looked down at her lap.

"I like doing things for you Jack. You've given me a warm home, and so much more..."

Jack removed the sewing tools from her fingers and laid them aside. He held her hands.

"Sally, I...well, we need to discuss something over dinner."

Sally glanced at him, trying to read his expression. His voice sounded strange. She nodded.

"I'll start dinner, Jack. What would you like?"

"Don't go to the trouble of cooking something, Sally. There's still plenty of that wonderful stew you made last night, isn't there?"

Sally was confused.

"I thought you wanted a special dinner tonight." Her voice was thin, uncertain, but in his own state of anxiety Jack didn't notice.

"I meant that I really need to have a talk with you. That's what's important. The food, is kind of beside the point."

"Is it about my staying here...for such a long time?", Sally asked.

Jack wondered what she was thinking. She didn't suspect, did she?

"In a way," Jack said, his bony hands trembling. "I'll set the table, alright? You relax,".

Sally sat on the sofa as Jack carried dishes and food from the kitchen to the dining table.

"Almost ready!" he called jovially. Jack lit a candelabra and put a dish out for Zero. Then, he walked to the couch and extended his hand.

"Dinner is served."

He helped Sally to the table. She was silent, afraid to say a word. They began to eat. Jack could feel the ring burning in his pocket like a cinder. He wished he had rehearsed something. How does one do this? The need for perfection made him rethink his words over and over. Finally, after about ten minutes, he spoke.

"Sally, in the past months since you've been in my home, I've been forced to rethink the way I live. You know I've always been accustomed to being alone in this house." Sally nodded. Jack continued:

"I've thought in the past, I mean way back in the past, about maybe not being alone. But really, it's all I've experienced. I've never felt the way I feel for you. You are the most gentle, spooky, smart..." He stopped. Sally didn't know what was going to happen. The pressure of everything that had happened these past months pressed down upon her at once. She started to cry.

"Oh!" Jack breathed. "Sally? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" She stood and turned away from him. Her voice trembled with tears.

"Jack, I've been imposing on you for a long time now. I've been here since Christmas. You know how much I love you. I've loved you all my life. I know that hasn't been long, but... You're so used to being alone. That, and everyone is talking about us. Do you want me to leave? If you want, I can find somewhere small to live, and you and I can continue like we have been..."

"I don't want to continue like we have been!" Jack blurted. Sally felt as if the fist that had held her heart all evening had just squeezed it to bursting. She was devastated.

"Sally? Could you turn around?" Jack asked. She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. He tried again.

"Please?"

She turned slowly. Her vision was blurry from the tears. Then, Jack's voice came from slightly below her:

"Um, Sally? Here." She looked down to see him on one knee before her, holding a tiny sparkly thing.

"Dearest, I don't want to continue as we've been, because I want to marry you. Will you marry me? Be my wife, and my Pumpkin Queen, and my everything, and stay right here with me forever? And be Zero's mistress?"

Sally had never in her brief existence experienced such a crushing low followed by such a dizzying euphoric high. And that was probably why she fainted.

"Sally? Sally? Darling, are you okay?"

Sally opened her eyes. She was lying on the sofa in the parlor. Jack was beside her, gently patting her cheek.

"You okay?" he asked again. She smiled.

"I was just so scared..." she whispered. Jack placed a skeletal finger on her lips.

"Answer me," he said.

"Yes. Yes to everything." As they kissed, little Zero did his special somersaults through the air in the hallway.

"Do you like the ring?" Jack asked.

"Ring?"

"On your finger. I put it on you while you were out. Presumptuous of me, I guess."

Sally lifted her small stitched hand and stared at the ring.

"I don't know what to say, Jack."

"You've already said what I wanted to hear, baby-doll. Shall we finish our dinner?"

Sally sat up slowly. She smiled, biting her lower lip.

"Later, Jack. Let's go to the tower."

_Some time later... _

Jack lay on his back in the tower bed, filled with bliss. He and Sally had made love three times before he declared himself spent and all but passed out in a pile of pillows and woolen blankets. He could imagine no finer way to celebrate their engagement. Her cheeks still flushed, Sally sat beside him in the bed. She turned through the pages of a renaissance art book. Jack's tower was a veritable library of volumes on just about any, and every, subject one could imagine. Sally was not an expert reader, but she was learning. Tonight, she simply looked at paintings and sculptures the likes of which she had never before seen.

"These women don't look like me.", she murmured. "I suppose I should say, I don't look like them, since they came first."

Jack smiled. He turned to his side.

"You're beautiful, Sally."

"The Fishgal says I used my body to get your attention."

Jack laughed at this.

"Well, I can't say that your body doesn't get my attention, although that is an egregious oversimplification of our relationship."

Sally smiled. Jack continued to speak, stroking a seam on her side with his fingers.

"That reminds me love. The doctor is looking for you. The witches said he needs to speak with you."

A strange expression passed over Sally's face, too quickly for Jack to decipher. They hadn't talked much about her creator.

"I'll speak to him.", she said quietly. Surely, the old man wouldn't try to take her back, would he?, she thought. Certainly not. It had been months since she'd stayed there, and he had built himself a new creation, just as she had encouraged him to do. Sally sighed. Dr. Finklestein was the last thing she wanted to think about on this wonderful evening. Sally laid the art book aside and looked at her fiance.

"I'm not scary, Jack. Not even a little bit. Are you certain that's okay? Shouldn't the Pumpkin Queen be scary?"

Lifting his tired bones from the bed, Jack sat up beside her.

"I am scary enough for both of us, Sally.", he said. She brightened at this. A sudden thought struck Jack.

"Sally, have you ever seen me work? Have you ever seen me...scary?"

She had to admit that she had not. Everyone knew Jack was the scariest creature in Halloweentown, scarier even than the late Oogie Boogie, but now that he brought it up, Sally realized that she hadn't seen it. Jack grinned.

"You really should, just so that you know."

Sally nodded agreeably, unsure what to expect. Jack sat back from her, gathered himself for a moment, then...

His entire countenance transformed. It was only for a matter of seconds, but the happy, familiar Jack disappeared, replaced by a snarling, demonic monster. Then, just as quickly, he was back.

"How's that then? Are you alright?", he asked.

Sally was visibly shaken, but caught her breath.

"That was terrifying, Jack. I think...I rather liked it."

Jack laughed loudly at her reaction.

"And _that_, is why you are going to be my wife."

Rejuvenated, Jack found that he wasn't entirely out of energy after all.


	7. You Can't Unring a Bell

"Now then, the meeting is tonight. What is our agenda?"

Jack sat at a cluttered table in the Mayor's office. Every month Halloweentown held a meeting where everyone came together to discuss their holiday business. The Mayor usually did most of the talking, but it was Jack who decided what topics were the most important. The Mayor leaned towards verbosity, while most of the townsfolk preferred brevity. Today, Jack's mind was elsewhere. Despite this, he still managed to compile a list to keep his associate on track.

"We need to appoint a leader for the candy making committee, otherwise they'll just argue. Also, I want to know where everyone is in terms of deadlines. The months go by so fast and I don't want us falling behind. If anyone needs extra hands, Lock, Shock, and Barrel are highly available."

"I'm sure everyone will jump at that opportunity, Jack." The Mayor sighed as he sipped his tea. "Anything else?"

Jack placed a finger to his chin, and then he said:

"Yes. Two things: We need to check-in with the Doctor. I want to make sure he's okay on supplies and such. Then again, he might not come to the meeting. The witches said that he hasn't been leaving his home as of late. I might have to pay him a visit, which would work just as well. I understand he wants to talk to Sally. She and I could go together, I suppose."

"And the second thing?" asked the Mayor. He expected something small, some other little holiday detail. Jack had a gift for details. The Pumpkin King took a drink of herbal tea, then he spoke:

"I need to make a little announcement. Last evening, I asked Sally to marry me. She said 'Yes.' Thus, I will be getting married." Jack finished the sentence with a dramatic flourish of his graceful hand.

The Mayor couldn't decide on an emotion. His head spun from joy to sorrow and back. Jack felt quite dizzy just looking at him.

"Jack! M-m-marriage?! Are you sure? Well, if you two are happy, then I'm happy for you. And for her. WAIT! This means that Sally will become the Pumpkin Queen! Did you think about that?"

"I did," said Jack. "I think she'll be a lovely Pumpkin Queen."

The Mayor rubbed his forehead.

"Oh Jack. There is certainly never a dull moment with you!"

While Jack met with the Mayor, Sally took her usual position by the fountain. She tried her best to concentrate on work, but found it difficult. Even on such an overcast morning, her ring caught fragments of light. The blue stone twinkled as she moved her hands under the sewing machine. Sally indulged herself stolen seconds, now and again, to gaze at it. Such an adornment looked out of place in the monochrome world of Halloweentown. Jack planned to announce their engagement at the town meeting that very evening. She couldn't imagine how everyone would react. At least he would be at her side. A giggle escaped Sally's uneven lips. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle it. Then, conscious of the ring's visibility, she quickly lowered her hand once more and gave a nervous glance to each side. The Fishgal had surfaced beside her. She rested against the stone rim of the fountain with no particular expression.

"Oh! H-hello.", Sally squeaked. The green creature took several seconds to respond before finally saying "hello." Sally smiled politely. The smile was not returned, but Fishgal did not appear hostile either.

"You look different today.", she said.

Sally smiled and gave a small, humble, shrug. She hooked her thumb around the diamond. She twisted it into her palm, so that only the band remained showing on her fingers from the outside.

"Why, you're hiding something in your hand!", Fishgal said. Her strange voice held more genuine, good-natured interest than she had ever previously shown when talking with Sally. Things hiding and hidden, surprises, were never unwelcome in Halloweentown. Sally couldn't have said herself whether what she did next was because of a desire to encourage this slightest flicker of friendliness from someone other than Jack, or whether she simply wanted to have a test run before the meeting. She slowly held out her hand. She pushed the ring back into place with her thumb. Deafening silence followed as Fishgal stared. She blinked slowly.

"Well.", she said at last. "He is serious when it comes to you."

Sally nodded. The fish woman tilted her head, her gaze still on the ring as if it were a magic talisman or weapon.

"You'll be the Pumpkin Queen. Our Queen.", she said more to herself than to the pale ragdoll. Sally pulled her hand back to her lap.

"I haven't given that part much thought.", she said. "I just want to be with him."

"Well.", the Fishgal drawled once more. "You'll need to think about that part soon. At least a little bit. Not that it matters particularly. Jack, I am certain, has thought of it, after all. He must know what you're capable of or he would not have chosen you."

Sally rocked the treadle of the machine with her foot. She slid another length of fabric under the needle. She worked for several minutes in silence, before stopping once more. She turned back to the Fishgal.

"Jack will announce our engagement tonight at the meeting.", she said. "I don't think everyone will be happy. Do you think the witches will be upset with me?"

The Fishgal took on an odd expression which wasn't quite a smile.

"They will not be happy for you. They've wanted Jack since before you were even born, such as it were. I believe they were certain they could wear him down given enough time. You were born, and it would seem that their time ran out."

Sally pursed her lips and fidgeted with the bobbin. It was full of thread and working nicely. She wished it were empty, or at least tangled so that she could pretend to be absorbed in its repair.

"Are you happy for me?", she asked. There seemed no harm in asking. The Fishgal ran a webbed hand over her translucent caudal fin and affected an air of purposeful indifference.

"Yes, of course. There is no reason for me not to be happy for you. Would another decade, or another hundred decades, have put that ring on me instead? No. Jack's made his brain up. As I said before, you have your obvious resources. No shame in that." She cleared her throat and nodded. It was far from an ideal response in Sally's mind, but could have been far worse.

"Do you have a name?", Sally asked. "A real name I mean?"

"Of course.", said the Fishgal. Sally looked at her expectantly.

"It is unpronounceable.", the creature said in a haughty tone.

Across the square, Jack stood on the doorstep of Dr. Finklestein's lab. Given the probability that the doctor would not be at the meeting, Jack decided to pay this visit sooner rather than later. It was only right that the doctor hear about the engagement first hand after all, Sally being his daughter of sorts. Jack paused at that thought. Had she been the old man's daughter? That was the only thing that made sense, Jack told himself. Still, a nagging worry tickled his skull. If he had that assumption wrong, perhaps the doctor would not be entirely thrilled to hear of the engagement. But then, if he wasn't thrilled, how much does that matter?, Jack asked himself. He hadn't brought Sally with him to see the old man, for reasons he couldn't quite say. He supposed he just wanted to assess the situation on his own first. He could always relay whatever message the witches said that the Doctor had for Sally. Jack straightened his lapels and rang the bell.

"It's open.", the Doctor called from inside. Jack entered the steel and stone building.

"Hello? It's Jack."

He waited in the kitchen as the wheel-chair bound doctor rolled down the ramp from the second floor laboratory.

"Well, hello Jack Skellington! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Jack relaxed a bit at the welcome.

"I wasn't certain if you'd be at the meeting tonight, Doctor. I wanted to fill you in on some things."

The Doctor nodded. Jack continued:

"Are you alright on materials? I know you go through rat bones pretty quickly..."

"I'm just fine Jack, thank you for asking. I'll be sure to let you know if I require assistance. Is there anything else?" Jack took a breath.

"Yes, erm, actually there is something. I wanted to talk to you about Sally, Doctor."

Dr. Finklestien bristled noticeably. He'd heard the rumors that his errant creation had taken up residence in Halloweentown's most notable address. He forced a smile.

"She's driving you crazy, eh? I hope you've been careful with your food. She has a history you know."

Jack winced, but let the comment slide.

"I suppose you know, Doctor, that Sally has been staying with me for a while now. We get along well together. I'm very happy with her."

The Doctor turned from Jack and started back up to the lab.

"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that you're happy, Jack. Keep those windows locked now, or you'll lose her!" Jack followed the old man up the ramp.

"Doctor! Please listen to me. I wanted to tell you that I love her. I love her more than death. I want to marry her. I asked Sally, and she feels the same, she wants to be my wife."

Dr. Finklestien's lurched at Jack's words. He rolled into the lab and spun to face Jack.

"Okay Jack. I can certainly see why she likes you. You're young, you're handsome, you're wealthy beyond this old man's wildest nightmares. You're the most important man in town. She ran away to live in the street, rather than stay with me...and then went from sleeping in cold doorways and behind gravestones to your mansion. It's clear she has benefitted from you. Not as if I don't already know, but what're you getting from the arrangement?"

Jack looked as if he had been hit.

"I love her," he said quietly.

The Doctor seemed almost a little mystified by that simple answer.

"I never thought she was especially pretty," he said, "and I'm the one who made her. She's nothing compared to Jewel in that department, at any rate. She talks too much. She's exceedingly clumsy. If I told you all the things she broke around here when she was new. That's not even going into her poisoning me, and running off repeatedly. Since then Igor's been much more selective in bringing me brains."

Jack didn't know what to say. On the bright side, if the doctor felt such disdain for Sally perhaps it wouldn't matter to him one way or the other whether Jack wanted to marry her. There seemed little reason for him to care.

"All of that aside Jack, you do realize, she can't give you a child.", Doctor Finklestein said. Jack shrugged lightly.

"That's hardly unusual here. Not many Halloween creatures can have children." The doctor frowned. Clearly, he had hoped that detail would give Jack pause.

"True enough, Jack. You're unusual in that respect to be certain, a fact which makes it even less wise for you to take Sally as your mate. There is no future there, and I mean that quite literally." The old man shook his head, almost in pity.

"Not that that should matter to an old man like me, anyway. Youth is wasted on the young they say. Nevermind. You're determined to marry her. I'm afraid you'll need something from me before that can happen."

Jack looked up with a start, wondering what the old man meant.

"Sally belongs to me you know. I made her myself. There was nothing of her, not a single stitch, before I worked to create what you now so indulgently enjoy. What if I say no? I used a lot of valuable materials on Sally. One in particular, if you must know. If what you say is true, I could either sign her off to become a queen, or I could take her apart and relieve my own current unhappiness. Jewel. She's not been feeling well Jack. Do you know what the matter is?"

Feeling sick, Jack shook his skull. The doctor moved further into his lab as he talked. Jewel lay immobile on the same examination table which had held Sally for countless repairs. The Doctor gestured toward her.

"Her heart Jack. It's not strong. Not strong enough for her to keep functioning. It must be replaced. I have only one other heart in my possession, and it's been living a life of luxury in your mansion for the past two months.

"Sally?!", Jack gasped, unbelieving. The old man couldn't possibly be suggesting...

"Sally is of no use to me.", Doctor Finklestein said with a wave of his hand. "She's far less at this point than even what I created. Thanks to you, that is."

"I don't follow.", Jack said hoarsely. The Doctor laughed without humor. He regarded Jack over the top of his small glasses.

"She's less than I made, Jack. You changed her, and even if I wanted to I could never change her back. There's no un-ringing a bell, boy."

Jack suddenly understood. He couldn't blush, so he just looked down at the grated, steel floor and paused to regain his composure.

"I can't let you hurt her, Doctor.", he said at last. "She's going to be my wife."

"Bring this up with the Mayor, Jack." said Doctor Finklestein. Sally is mine. There's a paper in the townhall which says so. Her body may be in your bed, but her heart belongs to me."


	8. Papers

1

Author note: Hi all. Again, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. They cheer me up immensely. Updates are coming more slowly now as I have more to work out, but I'll try not to make the wait too long. Oh, and if you had read chapt 7 right after I posted it, you may wish to reread. I made a change as there was one element that I meant to put in there and forgot. That's one thing that is difficult about writing stories in this format. I hate changing something that's already been posted, but sometimes you just have to. Anywho...

Diffused by clouds, the jack o'lantern sun sank slowly into the western sky over Halloweentown. It was almost time for the meeting. Sally waited at home for Jack so that they could walk to the hall together. Where was he? It was hardly like him to be late, especially on a night like this. Sally brushed her long hair and put on a dark green, dress which she had only recently finished making. Mere weeks after Christmas, Jack brought her home bolts of fabric with which to make a new wardrobe. Other gifts soon followed: fabric and flowers and silver sewing needles, spools of tattered satin ribbon, ancient lace by the yard, and a box of over one hundred kinds of buttons. Overwhelmed, Sally told him it was all too much. Her sole possessions prior to their cohabitation were her sewing machine and her comb, unless one counted the clothes on her body. Jack argued that he had never before had such an opportunity to woo a lady. He had centuries of stored up romance within his bones which had previously known no release. True to his dramatic nature, Jack embarked upon their newfound love, imagining himself in a Shakespeare sonnet.

Sally touched her necklace. It lay hidden inside her neckline. After a moment's thought, she pulled it out into the open and let it rest against the green bodice of the dress. She stood before a full length mirror. Quite suddenly, she didn't care a whit about what any of the townsfolk thought.

"Keep looking, keep looking. What about over here?", said Jack. He glanced at his pocket-watch and growled. Flustered, the Mayor dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief.

"I don't know, Jack! I don't know! I can't be expected to keep track of these things!"

The pair were yet again in the Mayor's office. Jack knelt on the floor, rifling through folder after folder of messy paperwork. The folders were stuffed into cabinet drawers which hadn't been forced closed in years.

"If you think Mayor, just think back, what is it that the doctor could have been referring to? He said that you had a paper which would prevent Sally from marrying me. Can't you remember anything like that?"

The corpulent man rubbed his temples, his eyes squeezed shut. Jack sighed. He set the folders aside.

"I can't find a single thing about Sally in any capacity.", he said in a quiet voice. "She's not listed anywhere. I've looked and looked. I can find mention of just about everyone else in town, even creatures who just passed through, but I can not find a single word about my dear Sally."

The Mayor patted Jack's shoulder. They stood in silence for a moment, then the Mayor's face suddenly revolved. He motioned for Jack to wait, and began digging in yet another file drawer. At last, he held up a paper.

"Here! I can't imagine why it didn't occur to me! This must be what Dr. Finklestein meant."

Jack received the paper and looked it over.

"What does this mean? I don't understand, Mayor."

"Er, well it's a simple thing really. We're an ordinary town here after all, and very few of the citizenry have what you would call, well, er, 'riches' for lack of a better word. Nevertheless, sometimes someone has something of value and wishes it recorded here. Why, I have notes about the Vampire brothers antique, Transylvanian, samovar, and my hearse, I'm the only one in town with a car, you know. The band members have their instruments documented..."

"Yes, but, what does any of this have to do with Sally?", Jack asked, trying hard to contain his impatience. The Mayor did his best to explain while remaining optimistic.

"By official documents, Sally has never been a citizen of Halloweentown. She's... well, she's property to put it bluntly."

Caught off guard by this news, Jack's jaw fell open.

"What on earth do you mean by that?! Property? What does that mean?"

The Mayor continued, forlorn once more:

"It's coming back to me now. Dr. Finklestein asked for this back when he created her. He made her, and as such, she belongs to him. She ran away to be with you, but as records indicate, she is still his. Before you can be married, you'll need the Doctor to officially release her from his ownership. Then, I can draw you up a marriage certificate. You'll have to hope his feelings concerning you and Sally improve, Jack."

The King was incensed. Jack rarely, if ever, pulled rank, but it seemed this might be the time for it.

"I'm the Pumpkin King! Doesn't that make any difference? How on Earth could we let something like this happen in our town?"

The Mayor shook his head.

"Jack, who could have foreseen how this was going to turn out? When he made Sally, she wasn't allowed outside at all. It was a long while before she even talked! It didn't seem necessary to register her as a voting citizen. The Doctor said she was very valuable to him, and that he wanted her recorded as such. That was all I did. Looking back, I, I suppose it was a mistake, but I didn't know. I'm sorry Jack."

Jack felt like crying, but he would never in a million deaths let the Mayor see him cry. Instead he glowered angrily at the table top. The Mayor patted Jack's bony arm.

"Now just go talk to him again. He'll come around, I'm sure. In the meantime...don't let it bother you! You know she's of no use to him anymore. It makes no sense for him to want to own her now." Jack swallowed. He hadn't told the Mayor anything about the problems with Jewel, or about why the old man needed Sally to remain his. In truth, Jack could barely bring himself to think about such a thing, let alone say it out loud. In any event, he appreciated the Mayor's well-meaning support, even if it was less than helpful.

"I suppose I'll fetch Sally for the meeting.", Jack sighed. The Mayor smiled and nodded happily, hoping that this seemingly insignificant problem would blow over like an afternoon storm.

Jack stuck his skull into the parlor doorway. His heart felt heavy on what should have been a joyous night.

"You look so beautiful, Sally. I apologize for my lateness. Are you ready to go?" Sally smiled and twirled into Jack's arms.

"Yes!"

They kissed, then Jack gathered his notes for the meeting in an old snake-skin folder. The newly engaged couple held hands and joined the crowd at the hall.

Sally took her seat in the front row, off to one side. Lock, Shock, and Barrel slid in beside her.

"Hiya, Sally!" they chorused.

"How are you, Sally?" asked Lock in a mockingly earnest voice. Sally smiled shyly at them. Lock always made her a little uneasy.

As the crowd settled into their seats, Jack and the Mayor stood at the coffin podium. The Mayor began reviewing the usual business while Jack kept things running on track. Sally could barely hear what they were talking about, she was so excited.

The Mayor calculated pumpkin patch output for the upcoming season. Jack stifled a yawn. Next there was a vote on who would oversee candy production for the third quarter.

"Ooooh! Me! Me!" chirped Barrel. He bounced in his seat, arm up, like an excited pupil.

"Get serious, stupid! We don't need to oversee it, to steal it!" hissed Lock. He clocked Barrel on the head. Meanwhile, it was decided the clown would take over as candy boss.

"Is that it for business?" the Mayor asked. "Then, Jack has a little announcement to make. It's all yours, Jack." The Mayor stepped aside as Jack took center stage. He looked out at his subjects. The witches hovered on their brooms up around the ceiling beams. The Doctor had come after all. He sat in his wheelchair back against the rear doors. The room was still and expectant. Jack looked to his fiancé. Sally gazed back at him, smiling. Jack began:

"I have an announcement. As most of you are aware, Sally and I have been together a great deal as of late. We have become...quite close. We had a long talk about the future of our relationship last night. I asked Sally if she would marry me."

There was an audible gasp in the hall. All eyes turned to the little rag-doll in the first row. She smiled, but looked down self-consciously.

"She said 'yes,'" said Jack. "We are going to be married! Halloweentown will soon have a Pumpkin Queen!"

To both Sally and Jack's surprise, the majority of the town burst out in applause. They all loved Jack, and it was wonderful to see him so obviously happy. Mrs. Corpse and the Behemoth even shed some spooky, happy, tears. True, the witches were shooting daggers with their eyes at Sally, but they always did that anyway. In the back of the hall, the Doctor gave Jack a hateful look that made his bones shiver slightly. If Sally had seen it, she would have known that look.

Jack stepped off of the stage and embraced his bride-to-be with a long kiss. The Mayor blanched and considered stopping them, but it seemed that most of the town didn't mind at all. They were actually a bit fascinated. It wasn't everyday they got to witness such bizarre behavior.

--

Humans who encountered the great Pumpkin King in the wee hours of Halloween night, would have been considerably less frightened had they the opportunity to see him off-duty. The screaming, leaping, fiend who made blood run cold and who appeared to defy gravity with effortless climbing and contortions was a wholly different sight in his coffin-shaped, bathtub. Tonight, Jack had some difficultly suppressing his inner turmoil as he sat in the steaming bath water. His bride-to-be faced him across the tub.

"What is it Jack? I thought the meeting went so well... Everyone was much nicer than I had expected."

"They were, that is true.", said Jack. "People here are set in their ways. It takes a bit for them to get used to anything new."

"Then, what's wrong? You've been so quite today."

Jack looked up, misery filling his eye-sockets. Why was nothing ever simple? It simply wasn't fair. There should be no unhappiness in a world where one has a love to share one's bathtub. He considered telling her everything right then, but couldn't. How could he worry Sally with such a horrible thing? If he was truly to play the part of the romantic hero, he would need to fix this himself. Otherwise, what good was he? Anyone could give gifts, thought Jack. His damsel was in distress and needed saving. He'd done it once before, though in all reality he believed she had risked far more for him. Jack smiled at her.

"It's nothing to worry about, Sally. Paperwork problems, boring and tedious."

"You don't usually worry yourself with papers.", Sally said, a thread of doubt in her voice. She crept forward in the tub, closing the distance between them.

As they lay in bed that night, Jack indulged himself some rare vulnerability. He cuddled against Sally in the manner which she generally did to him. If Sally noticed that their positions were reversed, she did not say.

"The doctor was at the meeting this evening.", she murmured. "I saw him leaving, when I stood to go. I've not yet talked to him about whatever he wanted to ask me."

"Don't.", Jack answered quickly. "I don't think it was anything."

Jack rested his skull on her breast, listening to the stead beating within.


	9. Crying

1

_Wow, a new chapter. Ok, so there is one part in here that was referred to in my other story, The Diagnoses. I didn't want to just rewrite that entire scene, but that's kind of what I did so that it would make sense if you haven't read Diagnoses. Also, I have changed a very important detail in my user profile. Strawberry bubble tea is no longer my favorite. I'm a taro-root girl now. This may not seem like an important thing, but I have over 1000 profile hits (wow, wtf?) so apparently people need to know.  
_

_Cheers  
_

Days passed. Every morning, Jack tried to change Dr. Finklestein's mind. He used every argument and angle his brain could devise, but to no avail. The doctor refused to be swayed. Meanwhile, Sally busied herself designing a bridal gown. Though she was happier than she had ever been, she couldn't help but notice Jack's growing anxiety. Dinners together were far more quiet than usual, not to mention the fact that their nocturnal activities had suffered a sharp drop in frequency. That could have been enough to make Sally worry whether perhaps her beloved had come down with a case of cold feet, but she sensed otherwise. Jack still sang to her; special love songs that he seemed able to pull from his skull with no preparation, but there seemed a sadness about him. He read to her from his favorite books as they lay together in bed. He held her close to his thin body as they slept each night. Sally never doubted his affections for even a moment, though obviously, something was amiss.

The Mayor had his own reason to support Jack's nuptial wishes. He was most pleased with the prospect of performing a wedding ceremony, viewing it as yet another public example of his official capacity. The fact that the Doctor's lack of cooperation could rob him of this opportunity was indeed troubling. One rainy morning, he tried his hand at the ongoing negotiations.

"C'mon Doctor! Can't you see the benefits of this union? He's the Pumpkin King! A female you created from nothing more than rags and skin was chosen by the Pumpkin King himself! That's some prestige, isn't it? Why, it could be considered the crowning accomplishment of your long and distinguished career! I would think you'd be behind this."

Doctor Finklestein shook his head. He removed his glasses and wiped the lenses with a small cloth.

"Sally was such a traitorous, ungrateful, conniving... How could I let a person like that become our Queen? Years down the road, Jack will thank me for this. You mark my words! She put me through so much, and me just a poor, weak, old, man. I realize that Jack's happiness is everyone's primary concern in this town, but what of someone like me? Without my precious Jewel, I'll perish! All alone, with no one to care for me in these, my twilight years. No one at all."

"Igor?", called a small, scratchy voice, from just outside the laboratory door. The doctor and Mayor continued with their conversation.

"Why, speaking of Jewel, I haven't seen her around town as of late.", said the Mayor. "How is your Jewel, Doctor?"

The old man sniffled dramatically. He held his head in his hands.

"Oh Mayor, let me tell you..."

Jack strode angrily through the town square, Lock jogging breathless beside him, trying to keep up. They were followed by the Mayor, fresh from his meeting with Doctor Finklestein, and Barrel who carried a mound of toffees, cupped in both his hands as if he were carrying rare coins.

"I can't believe you knew about Jewel, and about the heart! Why on earth didn't you tell me the extent of this mess, Jack?!", cried the Mayor. What are you going to do?"

"What's happening?", asked Lock with an excited smirk. He loved this. Jack was obviously angry, though not at him. That was always an event. Plus, the Mayor was worried and flustered! Such entertainment was hard to come by in these post-Oogie days. Neither of the men acknowledged Lock's question. The Mayor continued, his voice fluttering with panic.

"He does make some valid points, Jack! I'm not saying I agree! Not at all! I'm with you all the way as always, Jack! But, I do see where he's coming from. Sally must have been quite something when she was with Dr. Finklestein. He seems quite scarred by the experience."

"You came with me to the lab when he first made her.", said Jack. "Do you remember how he talked to her? Like she was nothing at all."

The Mayor softened and nodded.

"I do remember. She spilled tea all over and he just screamed at her. Come to think of it, I don't even think she was talking yet back then. Oh, Jack, I just don't know. What're you going to do? What does Sally say about this anyway?"

It was now Jack's turn to appear flustered.

"She doesn't exactly know about this."

The Mayor was shocked. He assumed Jack told Sally everything.

"Why haven't you told her, Jack? She knows the Doctor better than you or I. If anyone might know what could be done to sway him, it would be her. I thought you confided everything to her! I thought she was your 'soulmate.'"

"Sally _is_ my soulmate," Jack said with a touch of irritation. "She's even more than that. I just don't want her to worry if she doesn't have to."

"So...", sighed the Mayor sadly. "Sally is designing a gown for a wedding that might not happen." He shook his head with sorrow. Jack snorted.

"It will happen. There is no question about that, Mayor," Jack said defiantly.

Lock grabbed a toffee from Barrel's hands and popped it into his mouth. He chewed on the candy, trying to piece together what he had just overheard. At last, he looked up at Jack.

"I'm going back home. You've got other stuff to do, and I want to play in the tree house. See ya!"

Jack caught the boy's tail in his hand and pulled him back.

"I have things for you to read, Lock. Homework, as it were."

The boy looked up, annoyed.

"Huh?"

"I don't have much time at the present to work with you. Still, I made a commitment to make sure that you don't return to your old ways. I believe you need some culture. You need a view of a world larger than your own to give you some perspective."

With that, Jack pulled the boy to the town hall where he presented him with a teetering stack of books. Lock almost fell over with the weight as Jack placed them into his arms.

"You've got to be kidding!", Lock gasped. "How long are you going to keep bugging me with this stuff, Jack?"

Jack pondered for moment before answering. He sounded tired.

"I want you and your brother and sister to become responsible citizens. To that end I will devote as much time as I can, which right now is very little. Even so, there is plenty you can do to better yourself that doesn't require my direct supervision. You work on these books, and soon I'll ask you for a full report on each one." Jack tried to remain optimistic, but he often wondered if he wasn't just kidding himself with the trio. One minute they seemed like misunderstood, misguided, children, the next minute they were heartless little criminals. It was a tough call.

Shock sat at Sally's sewing machine. She was far too small to reach the treadle, but turned the balance wheel slowly with her hand. She watched the needle move up and down over the bobbin. This is a very dangerous machine, she thought with some excitement. It could almost be a weapon, if you could just find a way to get some part, of someone you disliked, stuck under there...

"What are you doing Shock? Where is Sally?"

The girl looked up to see Jack. Beside him was an apparently mobile tower of books. It took her a moment to recognize Lock's feet sticking out from the bottom of the pile. She laughed aloud and pointed.

"Where's Sally, Shock?", Jacked asked again. Shock blew a dark green curl out of her eye.

"Sally's back at your house. She was upset about something, so she went home."

"Upset?", Jack asked. "Why? Is she alright?"

He didn't wait for an answer from Shock, just turned and ran back to his house. Shock hopped down from the sewing stool and knocked over Lock's books before collapsing into giggles again.

The house was dark and quiet, save for a soft, crying. Jack climbed the stairs to his parlor where he found Sally. She sat on the sofa, tears running down her stitched cheeks.

"What on earth?", Jack said quietly as he approached her. "Whatever is the matter, Sally?" She swallowed hard, and spoke.

"I was working today, sewing, and the witches came to talk to me. They said that the doctor told them that I can't ever have a baby. He'd didn't make me able to do that. They said, that I can't be a good queen if I can't have a baby, because that's what a queen is supposed to do! Did you know that I couldn't do that, Jack? Because...they said that if you knew, you might not want..." Her words dissolved into sobs. Jack clicked his tongue. He sat beside his fiancé, lifting her into his lap.

"I will talk to the witches. I would never marry anyone just to get a

royal broodmare. Perhaps you can not have a child, but then that would clearly mean that I can't have a child either, don't you see? I wouldn't father an heir with anyone but you after all." He stroked her hair, smoothing tear soaked strands away from her cheek.

"Do you even want a baby Sally?", he asked. She sniffled, and gave a small shrug.

"I don't know. I've never seen a baby. I went upstairs to look at your art books again. I wanted to see the paintings with babies, but I was so upset... I fell."

Sally pulled her skirt back a bit, uncovering her knee. One of her seams was badly torn. Crimson and gold leaves pressed through the gash.

Jack gasped at her injury, pulling the ragdoll more tightly against his ribs.

"This baby thing... That's a bridge we will cross some other time, Sally.", Jack sighed. "Put it out of your mind for now."

Sally nodded. She wiped her face with her hand. She extracted a sewing needle from behind her ear. Jack smiled, in spite of everything. He cuddled her legs on his lap as she repaired the wound, suturing herself with dark, blue, upholstery thread.

"Jack, you've been so quiet lately.", Sally said carefully as she finished the seam. "When the witches said that to me today, I wondered if that was why. I wondered, if you had found that out, and if it was making you sad. You are sad about something Jack, I know that you are."

Jack closed his eyes. He ran his boney fingertips across Sally's knees, making her shiver. _ Tell her anything,_ Jack thought. _She doesn't need this worry. I can figure this out. _He opened his eye sockets and looked up at her. His ragdoll's lovely face was so close to his. Jack knew in an instant he could tell her nothing but the truth. So he told her. He told her everything. Everything about his daily fruitless pleas to the Doctor, about his anger at the whole forsaken situation. Sally listened patiently. If she was frightened or even angry, her expression didn't show it. Jack looked down at her legs once more as a tiny, chilly tear trickled down his skull. It landed on her knee and wicked into the fabric.

"Oh, I hate that," muttered Jack. "I never let anyone see me cry. Can you imagine what they would think? The Great Pumpkin King, crying." Sally leaned forward and kissed two more tears that were sliding down his face. Jack smiled once more, immensely comforted.

"You should have told me what was happening, Jack.", said Sally. "I know you didn't want me to worry, but you should have said something. Maybe I should talk to the Doctor. I've had plenty of past experience with him, more than anyone else, and this is about me after all."

"No." Jack said firmly. "He might hurt you."

"I am very good at taking care of me, Jack. I have been for quite a while."

"I know love. I know. But let your bone man fix this."

Sally nodded in agreement. She kissed Jack goodnight, and headed upstairs to bed. She wanted a good night's sleep before visiting the evil scientist.


	10. Impasse

1_Hullo all It's been awhile. Sorry 'bout that! I've been tangled up in a project and couldn't spare the time for fun writing, but here be chappy 10:_

Dr. Finklestein removed a curved scalpel from his autoclave. He cast a weary glance at Jewel. She remained incapacitated on the examination table, her chest cavity still open. Despite the doctor's generally unemotional approach to such things, he found it uncomfortable to dwell on the reality before him. Jewel needed repair. Sally had the necessary materials. That much was easy. It was the messy in-between which gave him pause. The heart wouldn't just leap from one woman to the other after all. Doctor Finklestein could barely admit to himself how uncomfortable the thought made him. All things relating to Jack aside, Sally could hardly be expected to give up her existence quietly. Could I even do it?, the doctor thought to himself. The doorbell rang and he groaned. It had started out as quite a kick having Jack and the Mayor visiting daily to beg, plead, and bargain for Jack's right to marry Sally. Now however, it had become more than annoying.

"I'm busy!", he bellowed at the door. He placed the scalpel on a steel instrument tray, beside an assortment of other tools. The bell rang again. This time the doctor didn't bother to dignify it with a response. After a moment, the downstairs door creaked open, then shut as someone entered. What nerve!, thought the doctor. He spun his temperamental electric wheelchair and headed down the ramp to give Jack a piece of his mind. The doctor reached the first floor and looked up in surprise. Jack was not the one who had come in, nor was it the Mayor. Standing in Doctor Finklestein's kitchen was Sally. She had not set foot in this place for months. It was a strange non-sequitur to see her once more. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The Doctor took in her wine dress and the silver locket. A thin band of satin ribbon wound across her hair. Light danced off of the blue diamond ring.

"You've done well for yourself," was all he could think of to say.

Sally felt an old insecurity creeping into her stuffing. She became aware that she was nervously wringing her hands. She stopped herself, and took a deep breath.

"I need to speak with you," she said.

The Doctor turned and directed his wheelchair back up the helical ramp. He felt more at home in his laboratory and much more in control.

"You'll need to come up here then, Sally. I am very busy and I can't waste my time standing around in the kitchen."

Sally blanched at the prospect of revisiting the lab, but she followed obediently, clasping her locket in her fingers. Once in the chilly, metal, room, she began again.

"You know why I'm here. I am asking you to please let go of me. You know I'm not yours. I never really was yours..."

"There is a paper in the town hall that says otherwise, my dear."

Sally bit her lip. She noticed Jewel, immobile on the same steel table where she used to lie for repairs. Unable to take her gaze from her sibling, she spoke again.

"I am sorry about Jewel, doctor."

"Those things happen, it's nothing that can't be remedied. Seeing as how you are aware of your...a-hem, _sister's_ affliction. I'm somewhat surprised that you ventured over here all by yourself Sally."

Sally stepped toward the examination table. She peered at the dissected Jewel with mixture of terror and fascination.

"I don't understand.", said Sally. She wondered how he had managed to build Jewel without using any stitches on her face. Sally touched her own cheek self-consciously.

"Aren't you afraid that I might just do it now?", said the doctor.

"No. You would never do that to Jack. Not like this.", she said quietly.

Doctor Finklestein scowled. In a way she had called his bluff, but not exactly. It really had nothing to do with Jack.

"I want to marry Jack.", Sally said suddenly.

"I'm sure you do.", the Doctor said with a humorless chuckle. "That hardly makes you unique, Sally. What blasted female around here doesn't want to marry Jack?"

Sally felt her anger growing.

"I don't understand you. You made me! You gave me life! Why do you hate me so much?"

The Doctor removed his small, round glasses. He wiped the dark lenses with the cuff of his lab coat. His eyesight was quite poor without the glasses, and at the moment he could do without seeing her. He turned to the window, his remaining hemisphere of a brain searching for something particularly hurtful to say. Sally had hurt him badly, thus she deserved no less.

"You are the only failure I've ever made, Sally."

Satisfied at this, he replaced his glasses and returned to arranging scalpels, forceps, and clamps on the tray. Sally felt her face grow hot with an unpleasant mixture of frustration and anger.

"I am no failure," Sally said, shaking her head. Her voice rose as she continued speaking. "You're the only who thinks that. Out in town, I've done all kinds of things! I sew for everyone now. They all know I'm smart. Even the ones who don't like me, know I'm smart. And Jack... Jack _loves_ me. He and I sit together all night and talk about everything. Jack asks my advice about things. You know he wouldn't talk to me like that if I were a failure."

"Sally, everyone in town knows what you and Jack do all night, and from what I understand, there isn't much talking involved.", sighed Dr. Finklestein.

"All I'm asking for is one sheet of paper and I'll leave you in peace forever. I'll never bother you again.", said Sally. Her voice was strained, struggling to keep from tears. "You're so smart doctor. You're a genius! Surely, there's some other way to make Jewel better."

Apparently unmoved, her creator shook his head.

"Sally, you were always so ungrateful. Never satisfied. I'm beginning to think that Jack is not the sharpest knife in the drawer for falling for you, of all people. For that, I am sorely disappointed in our king. I couldn't let that poor naive boy be taken in by your opportunistic game. It would be against my civic duty to allow someone like you to become Queen."

Sally's eyes stung.

"I love him! I mean _really_ love him! I couldn't care less whether or not I become the queen!"

"I hear about all the presents Jack gives you. New dresses, jewelry... Just because I don't spend a lot of time around town these days, doesn't mean I don't know what goes on."

Sally felt the tears welling. Talking to the Doctor was hopeless. She brushed her hands over her eyes.

After she had gone, the Doctor backed away from his worktable. He held his metal head. She was just as stubborn as ever. Stubborn, and pushy, and selfish, and just as pretty as she had been the last time he had looked closely at her, a long time ago when he had locked her in her room. How on earth could this mess be solved? Even if Jack were willing to just give Sally back, fixing Jewel would require the almost unthinkable. The old man allowed himself that "almost", as a concession to his scientific nature. Surely, it could be done. She could be taken by force, restrained... It could be done, even if she screamed and cried right up to the last. Suddenly cold, he swallowed hard. Dr. Finklestien had seen Jack and Sally together in town on just a few occasions over the past months. Jack always looked so interested in what she was saying; he always seemed to have his arms around her shoulders or her waist. For her part, Sally always seemed to be smiling. Dr. Finklestien, though he would never admit it, even to himself, almost missed his ragdoll creation and the spontaneity she had brought to his drab life. He sighed deeply.


	11. Polite, if we have to be

1_Chapter 11, lumplings. I was stuck on where things would be going with this story, as there were a couple of options but everything I came up with was either too complicated, or too much of a deus ex machina. Tonight however, over my chai latte, I had an epiphany. Don't know how long it will take to finish since I don't have much free time, but at least now I know where I'm going! Yippee! XD _

Sally's morning with the doctor may have been decidedly unpleasant, but across town Jack fared only marginally better.

"It truly isn't important to me. Even if it was, surely that wasn't the best way to go about it, wouldn't you agree?", Jack asked in his most diplomatic voice. The witches gazed up at him. They somehow managed to be at once, both apologetic and defensive.

"We all just want the best for you, Jack. You're our hero! We want you to be happy!", said the taller witch.

"You deserve the very best, Jack.", echoed her sister.

"I appreciate the concern, ladies, however, you really needn't worry. Sally is the best thing that's ever happened to me. As long as she is safe and happy, all will be well with your Pumpkin King. She's very sensitive. It hurts her feelings when you say such things! Please, could you be nice to her? Or at least, nicer? For me?"

Jack folded his hands over his chest, imploring. He smiled hopefully at the old women. They whimpered soft affirmatives through clenched teeth. Jack grinned as if they had agreed wholeheartedly.

"Splendid! Thank you so much! I can't tell you how much your understanding means to me. Now then, have you seen the Fishgal? I need to check in with her concerning her holiday work, but the Mayor says he hasn't heard from her in days."

"Eh, she'll turn up Jack.", the taller witch said, her mood deflated. "You know how she is."

Jack nodded. Of everyone in town, fishgal was the hardest to catch up with if she didn't want to be found. No one could really follow her for any length of time. She slipped back and forth from the lake, to the fountain, to the swamp, to who knows how many other places, through submerged passages known only to her. They were right, she'd turn up. Jack waved goodbye to the witches. He walked away towards the town hall for his daily meeting with the Mayor.

"Are we going to be nice to her then?", asked the smaller witch. Her sister sniffed indignantly.

"We can be polite, I suppose. If we have to be."

"Oooh, why are you so obsessed with marriage these days anyway? Who says you have to be married?" The Mayor, initially eager to assist, was now bored and irritated. The problems with Jack's love life were taking up too much precious time.

"Hm?" asked Jack absently. He checked over a list of humans who deserved a good scare, but was clearly thinking about the doctor and Sally. The Mayor continued:

"I'm saying don't marry her! Not officially, anyway. It's only paper, Jack! If it makes you two feel better, I'll say a little something, an 'unofficial ceremony' if you will, and there you are! Honeymoon straight ahead, then you can get back to your work." Jack weighed this option.

"But what about Doctor Finklestein and Jewel? What about the heart?"

"Jack, he's an old man. What can he do? You just keep her at home, that's all! He can hardly go all the way into your house and drag her out."

"Keep Sally at home all the time? Never let her out? That's no kind of solution.", Jack scoffed. The Mayor shrugged. He didn't know much about females, or marriage, or any of this nonsense. He was fairly certain that wives were supposed to stay home most of the time, but there was little point in arguing with Jack.

"If we didn't get married, she wouldn't be Sally Skellington.", continued Jack. "That's too nice a name to waste, don't you agree, Mayor? Besides, the whole rest of the afterlife she would still belong to him. He could just take her! Anytime he wanted to. I wouldn't put it past him, especially if he thought we were happy. It would just be too complicated."

"How's that?" asked the Mayor. Jack scratched his skull thoughtfully.

"Well, I don't know. What if, and this is just an example mind you, but hypothetically speaking Mayor, just what if, far, far, off in the future...we had a baby?"

The Mayor was absolutely horrified. Jack raised his skeletal hands defensively. "Hypothetically! If that were to happen, he could have some claim to the baby, or something else could go wrong. It would be so be so confusing for the poor little one! And—"

"Alright, Jack. It was just a thought! Forget it! In fact, forget what you said too! That baby thing." The Mayor shuddered with revulsion.

"Forgotten," Jack said. He copied a few more names. The Mayor spoke again, his voice low.

"You are the Pumpkin King, Jack. You've got plenty of money. I don't mean to be crude, but it would seem that you are at a desperate juncture."

"Offer him money for her?!" Jack said in a shocked whisper.

"Don't do that!" Sally said as she entered the funereal office. The Mayor shrugged again. Jack motioned Sally close to him.

"Don't worry love. We'll solve this," said Jack as he kissed her hands. "What are you up to right now?"

Sally managed a smile.

"I'm going to start cutting fabric for my wedding gown."

Jack nodded happily and hugged her.

"Marvelous! Lock should be over there in about an hour to discuss those books I lent him. I'll be home before that, so no worries. Later then, my precious baby-doll."

Sally caressed Jack's skull with the back of her hand, then exited the office.

"Baby-doll?" the Mayor muttered, forlorn. Jack smiled sheepishly.


	12. A Deal

_1It's finally spring and the weather is warm! Hooray! Here's another chapter:_

Sally spread yards of fabric across the kitchen tabletop. She knew what she wanted her wedding dress to look like. It will be lovely, she thought. The ragdoll sighed and rubbed her cheek stitches against the bolt. Sitting down, she laid her head on the cloth and cried. Tears had strained at the surface since she left her creator's home, but she wouldn't have given him that satisfaction. Now they flowed freely, soaking the seams and scars that covered her forearms. She never heard Lock come in.

Lock was early. He had been rehearsing speaking to Jack and wanted to get it over with. He planned to tell Jack to lay off with the boring books and lessons. Lock wanted something exciting to do. If Jack wouldn't listen...well, he'd listen because if he didn't Lock would return to his old ways! This goody-goody stuff was getting old fast. The boy was all set to state his case when he came across Sally, crying on the table. If his companions had been with him, he'd have laughed or made a mean joke. He'd have had to, or risk teasing of the worst kind all night. Today Barrel and Shock were helping to pour lollipop candy into molds with the corpse family. Lock had been invited, but he decided to square with Jack instead. The others would certainly pocket some lollipops and he'd help himself after they went to bed. He now stood alone, watching Jack's girlfriend cry. Alone, he wasn't sure what he should do. The boy spoke, and tried to sound as though he hadn't noticed her distress.

"Hey, Sally."

She jumped.

"Lock! You're early. Jack is with the Mayor. He'll be back soon." She straightened in her chair and quickly wiped her eyes. Lock climbed up on the chair across from her. Sally was quite unsure of Lock. She wished Jack would hurry up and return home. Still, Lock was only a little child. Sort of...

"Are you hungry Lock? I can fix you something if you'd like."

"Nah. I had three toffee bars before I came over. So...why're you crying? You don't wanna marry Jack?"

Sally frowned. She folded the fabric.

"I want to marry him. There are just some little complications is all."

"Huh. Like what?"

"Oh...just some grown-up things.", Sally said airily.

Lock snorted at that. He leaned across the table towards her.

"I heard that the Doctor still owns you. He wants to cut you up to fix his other chick. That's the problem."

Sally looked up, startled.

"Does everyone know that now?"

"Mostly, I guess. Me, I know because I overheard the witches and the Doctor talkin'. So, what're you gonna do? I think Jack should just kill the Doctor. If I were Jack I'd kill him."

Though the idea wasn't wholly unappealing to her at times, Sally disagreed.

"You can't go around killing people."

"Why not?", asked Lock. "That's what we used to do. Well, not us directly but, you know."

"I know," said Sally flatly. She cut her eyes at the boy, then returned to her task. Lock watched Sally collect paper pattern pieces she had fashioned herself from parchment. He was fascinated by her for some reason he couldn't quite explain. Her stitches and asymmetry were nothing new in Halloweentown, but her face and manner held a kind of pure beauty that was rare here. The three trick or treaters were frozen in a kind of timeless childhood. Lock in particular existed in an awkward plain of late pre-pubescence with all its uncertainty. He spent a great deal of his little life assembling schemes with some poor soul usually on the receiving end. Now, he had an idea that would help Sally, and more importantly, be quite nice for him too.

"What if I told ya I could help you with your problem?"

Sally swept a lock of hair behind her shoulder and shook her head.

"Lock, Jack has talked to that old man every day for almost two weeks. The Mayor has tried. I've tried. It's no good."

"I don't want to talk to the doctor." Lock said with a smirk. "But I have something he wants. I could help you."

"Why would you?" Sally asked. She knew enough to be suspicious of Lock wanting to help anyone. It just wasn't in his nature. Lock leaned back in his chair and smiled at her.

"Well okay, yeah. I don't help anyone without a price, Sally."

"So assuming you can help, what is your price, Lock?", Sally asked. She sounded tired.

"Three things," Lock began. He stood on the chair for emphasis. "First, if I help you, you can't tell _anyone_. _ No one_. I don't want anyone to know I'm doing this kinda thing, okay? E_specially_ Shock and Barrel. I have a reputation to uphold. Second thing, I want you to bake me cookies. A bag of those really cool ones with the chocolate and the spiders that you make. I know you do, because I've seen Jack eatin' em and I think he got them from you. You gotta make me the cookies every few weeks. Put a note on the bag that says you made 'em for me and I don't gotta share 'em with Shock and Barrel. That part is important, make sure it says that. But you can't say why you're makin' them for me f'course, 'cause that would break rule number one."

Sally rolled her eyes. He really was just a kid.

"Number three?"

Lock took a breath, considering. This was a golden opportunity. He could ask for pretty much anything after all. He was torn between the more juvenile side of his nature which would happily settle for more cookies, or perhaps for Jack to never bother him again, and the pestering voice of his inner pre-teen. He wondered what he could get away with. Not much probably, as this was Jack Skellington's girl he was bargaining with. Lock turned strangely pink and looked at the table.

"Number three... I want a kiss."

Sally looked up from her folding. Had she heard that right?

"A kiss? From me? That's what you want?"

Lock nodded.

"When I fix this, you gotta kiss me."

Sally laughed.

"Lock, if you can fix our problem, I will most certainly kiss you. You have my word."

Lock grinned, surprised.

"For real? I didn't know if you'd go for that or not. Cool." More at ease, he added:

"I don't mean a little peck on the cheek. Something decent. You know how you and Jack sneak off to the lakeside when you think no one's paying attention? Something like that would be fine."

Sally flushed purple. She shook her head 'no.'

"I will _not_ kiss _you_ like that...but I will kiss you," she said over her shoulder as she put away the fabric.

"Oh, okay. Whatever you think then," Lock conceded. He had figured it was worth a try.

Jack came home and laid a bolt of blue satin on the table.

"Is this what you had in mind for the train?", he asked. Sally nodded.

"Yes Jack. That is lovely. I'll start sewing tonight."

Jack got a glass of water and sat down at the table near Lock. He did a double take when he noticed the child beside him.

"You're quite early. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to ya Jack. I was just telling Sally here that I know how to help you guys. I have a heart."

Jack coughed on his water. Sally leaned her back against the kitchen counter. She looked at the little devil carefully. If what Lock said was true, that would be wonderful beyond all description. It sounded too good to believe. Jack appeared to be thinking the same way.

"A heart. You have one. Really." remarked Jack, his voice incredulous.

"Sure.", said Lock with a nod. "It's a person heart."

"How?", asked Jack. "Where is it?" He rested his skull in his hand, waiting for answers." Lock didn't waver.

"I'll take you to it, Jack. It's back home."

"Alright then. Let's go.", said Jack with a shrug. He started toward the door, following Lock. Sally caught his hand.

"I don't know Jack.", she whispered. "What if it's a trap?"

"What if it's not?", Jack countered.

Sally gave her fiancé a pained expression, but released his hand. Jack kissed her cheek. Lock beamed as they headed out. He blew a kiss to Sally before slipping through the door.


	13. Naturally

_We're winding down here people, just a few chapters left. This chappy required some research. The result is still debatable depending on environment, but even so, was moderately helpful all things considered.   
_

"Exactly how long has he been here Lock?", called Jack. Lock peered down at the Pumpkin King through an iron barred window high above. The air smelled of death, but without the pungent insistence of a recent demise.

"Umm... I'm not sure, Jack."

"Awhile, I'm guessing?"

"Uuh... I think since Halloween. That would make sense, huh? Oogie couldn't really get out of town unless it was Halloween, so he must have brought him back here then."

Jack closed his eye sockets and rubbed them with his fingers. Why, oh why, did things always turn out like this? He opened his eyes once more, and looked at the body. More accurately, he looked at once had once been a body. Lock slid down a rope and trotted to Jack's side.

"Whoah! He's barely even there anymore, is he?", the boy said in surprise. Jack glared at him.

"They don't exactly 'keep' Lock."

Lock poked at cobweb thin matter stretched over the bones. He hadn't bothered looking at the body in ages, just knew it was here, discarded, like all the other Oogie things which were of no use anymore.

"He's almost like you now.", Lock observed.

"Not really.", Jack said, his tone dry. "Was he alive when he got here?", He almost didn't want to know. Lock shrugged.

"Not sure. Maybe not. I don't know."

Jack closed his eyes again. Don't hurt or kill humans. It was the one thing he insisted on. Obviously Oogie had done whatever he wanted to do anyway, but it bothered Jack to think that so much could have gone on under his nose.

"Why would Oogie even do this?", Jack asked angrily. "I thought he ate bugs."

"Sure! But what do bugs eat?", said Lock with a laugh. "Who cares, Jack? I know it was against your rules, but Oogies's gone now anyway, right? You killed him."

"I did.", said Jack. "I killed him." The conversation stopped for a moment. Then, returning his attention to the corpse, Jack said quietly "This is too old, Lock.".

Lock stamped his little foot in irritation.

"Nuh-uh! You don't know that! You're not a doctor!"

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Jack reached deftly into the remains, releasing a cloud of putrid dust. Being the king of Halloween, he felt no special revulsion at this, aside from knowing that his hopes had been dashed yet again. Jack extracted his boney hand, closed around a desiccated, gray, object. Lock leaned in for a better look.

"That's a heart?"

"Not one that's going to beat again anytime soon.", Jack sighed. He opened his fingers. The heart, as dry as sand, crumbled between them and ran through to the floor.

"Wow. Sorry, Jack.", murmured Lock. He wondered if he could hold Sally to her promises. He'd meant well after all. How was he supposed to know that human bits were so fragile? Jack stood, his hand covered with dust from the corpse. He held it out before him so as not to soil his suit. On occasions as maddeningly hopeless as this, Jack found it could be comforting to hold on to what little control one had, even if that was something as unimportant as the cleanliness of one's suit. He turned from Lock and easily climbed back up to the surface. Lock scrambled to follow.

"Where're ya going now, Jack? Back home?"

The Pumpkin King didn't answer, just walked away toward the cemetery, his skull hung low.

The sky over halloweentown was a deep, inky, blue. It melted into lavender at the horizon. Jack paused at the edge of the pumpkin patch to admire the first twinkling stars of evening. He chided himself for having pinned hope on such an absurd possibility as Lock possessing a fresh and usable heart. I should have known better, Jack thought. He continued walking through the carefully tended rows of pumpkins, toward the softer earth which surrounded the lake. Kneeling by the green water, Jack plunged his hand under the surface, letting the traces of whomever that had been, slide away. He knew he would need to return home soon or Sally would worry, but decided to collect himself first, just for a moment. Bats flitted above his skull, leaving for their nightly festivities. Jack picked up a smooth stone from the banks and skipped it lightly over the water. It skipped six times. Not bad, thought Jack. I wasn't really trying after all. He sat, leaning forward over his knees, and soaked up the night sounds. Several minutes passed before his solitude was interrupted.

"Jack? Are you alright Jack?"

The fishgal emerged from the lake, surprised to see him. Jack gave a small wave.

"Yes, fine. Just resting here for a spell is all."

She smiled and slid through the water until she was beside him.

"I haven't seen you in town this week.", said Jack. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, fine.", she said. Her voice rasped somewhat as she talked. "I've acquired a cold is all, but thank you for thinking to ask, Jack. And what of your problems? Any news?"

Jack smiled sadly and shook his skull. He looked away. The fishgal uttered a low hiss. She patted his shoulder gently.

"I am sorry, Jack. Do you suppose you'll find someone else then?"

He shook his skull again, frowning. The fishgal leaned closer.

"But what would you do if Sally couldn't stay with you?"

"I'd be alone.", he replied simply.

"You couldn't find another mate? You're certain?", she pressed.

"Certain.", came the answer.

"Why?"

"Because I love _her_."

The Fishgal nodded, backing away from Jack. She disappeared under the water. Jack exhaled sharply before standing. There was no point talking to his friends about this, he decided. They didn't understand at all, not one bit. It was like trying to explain Christmas.

Back at the treehouse, Barrel and Shock returned home, their pockets overflowing with lollipops.

"You missed out! Lookit all we got!", boasted Barrel. Lock shoved the smaller boy onto the floor and wrestled several of the pops from his grasp. That wasn't at all an unusual occurrence, but something about the ferocity of Lock's attack startled his companions.

"Geeez! What's wrong with you?", Shock asked. She laughed nervously. "You didn't even wait until he was asleep!"

"I had a bad day, so leave me alone!", growled Lock. He winged a baseball at Shock, narrowly missing her hat. I can't believe I'm not going to get my cookies, or my kiss, he thought. Life sucked.


	14. Relaxation and Delivery

1_Hi again all. Such a delay before this chapter, and it's a really short one too. Sorry about that. I've been trying to get these last chapters out before I begin work on my final term paper. Life has been silly busy this month. Anyway, in the brief author's note before the last chapter, I included an website url that I used for research on decomposition. Apparently ffdotnet does not allow you to type urls, as when I uploaded the document it had disappeared. In the interest of giving credit to my source, I referenced deathonline dot net. As always (though I sometimes forget to say it) thank you for the reviews. They brighten my day indescribably._

_ PS: I've been trying to submit this chapter all week, but the upload hasn't been working. It appears that all is well now. Hooray!_

Jack stretched his bones, the disappointments of the day fading temporarily. He lay on his ribs on the tower bed while Sally massaged his spine. The King of Halloween never in his existence had anyone do such a thing for him before she came along.

"How did you learn this, Sally?", Jack asked. She straddled him, leaning slightly forward over his back as she worked.

"I just knew.", she said. "Like sewing."

He grinned. Sometimes things arranged themselves so neatly that Jack could practically see an enormous, cosmic plan in action. It was all solid and flawless. Perfect. Of course, that was usually when something aberrant would take place, throwing a terrible wrench into the whole works.

"You're tensing up again Jack.", Sally said.

"Sorry.", he murmured. "I'm also sorry that it took me so long to come home, Sally. I know you must have been worried. I just needed to sit and think for a spell."

"Did it help?", Sally asked, pausing in her efforts.

"Not really. I saw Fishgal. She asked if we'd found any solutions, to which I truthfully replied. It's so difficult trying to talk to anyone about this. No one here understands. They don't know about fuzzy things like love and wanting to be with someone forever." Jack tensed once more with the frustration of it. Leaning up, he twisted to face Sally as he spoke. She eased him back onto his ribs.

"They might.", she said. "They just haven't had the chance to know about those things."

"A fair point, to be sure.", Jack conceded. "I didn't know about those things until you, and now look at me."

"I am. You're worried and under great stress.", Sally said sadly, biting her lower lip. Jack snorted, leaning up on his elbows and twisting around, once more.

"Only because I am trying to protect this most precious new part of my existence! It isn't you, it's the world that's a bother, Sally. I'm very happy! How could I not be happy? I'm the only King of Halloween, the most fearsome and feared creature around. I reduce grown men to weeping piles of shivery jelly. I'm loved and admired in my town. Now, I'm lying here in my comfortable, warm tower, while a beautiful, sweet girl, wearing next to nothing, massages my back. It can't get much better! Naturally, I'm under a small amount of pressure what with the doctor and all, but..."

Sally pressed her fiancé back down, more firmly than before. He exhaled in exasperation. She worked her fingertips between his vertebrae again.

"Do you think it was a trick? Do you think Lock knew what had happened to the body?", Sally asked.

"I don't believe so.", Jack answered, calm again. "I don't think Lock understands those things. It's rather complex anyway, how humans are. I feel terrible about it. A human dying here..."

"You don't know that.", Sally interrupted. "There's no way to know. And Oogie's gone now, so you did the best you could do. You did the best anyone could do."

"True, I suppose.", Jack said.

Sally slid her hands to his shoulder blades. Jack released a soft moan, making her smile. She considered what Jack had told her concerning his day. It appeared that Lock did indeed mean well. Given that, she would fulfill their bargain. If anything, baking cookies would be a nice diversion from her worries. As for the other part, she would do that too, of course. It was a small thing after all.

Across town, Doctor Finklestein banished Igor to the lower levels of their home. He needed absolute quiet in the laboratory. Igor assumed that his master was conducting some new, elaborate experiment. Something so complex that the old man required silence so as not to lose his concentration. Instead, the doctor simply sat, flicking his gaze from the operating table to his surgical tools and back again.

"Enough.", he said out loud, pounding his gloved fist. This had gone on long enough. He was tired of waiting for what had at first seemed inevitable. Jack would never tire of Sally. She would never return home. No matter, he thought. Sally was his, and that was all there was to it. She'd have to be returned to him. Only then could the only logical conclusion to this unfortunate chain of events play out. He nodded resolutely. He'd fetch her in the morning.

Downstairs, Igor sat against the side wall of the kitchen, eating congealed porridge from a dingy ceramic bowl. A cubic cardboard box sat between his feet, seeping moisture from the corners. Igor found the box sitting on the top step, right outside the front door of the laboratory. No one had rung the bell to announce such a delivery. Igor wondered if he should take the parcel upstairs to his master, but decided not to. The doctor had made his wish to be alone very clear. Any disobedience could result in a newspaper whacking, or at least a withholding of biscuits. The doctor could have the package in the morning.


	15. Promises, Promises

1

The sun rose over Halloweentown, pouring rose-hued light across the ragged buildings.

Dr. Finklestein, already awake for over an hour following a fitful night's sleep, took one last look at his surgical workspace, then rolled down the ramp to his kitchen. He was about to leave for Jack's home when he saw Igor. His assistant lay asleep in a dusty corner, clutching a strange, sodden parcel.

The witches awoke at the sound of Dr. Finklestein's wheelchair crossing the square towards the Skellington mansion. Removing their sleep-masks, the women exchanged sly smiles. Why was the doctor going to Jack's? There could only be one reason. They leaned out through their doorway to watch events unfold. Several other townsfolk thought the same thing. A small crown lingered in the area, pretending to be busy. The musicians shook their heads sadly at one another. Fishgal hung on the side of her fountain, gazing up at Jack's tower.

Inside, the Pumpkin King and his ragdoll were completely oblivious. Jack awoke in a cheerful mood, determined that they not sink under their problems. Instigating some over-due, amorous activity was his first step toward that end. He advanced upon Sally the moment she opened her eyes. She laughed with surprise. Jack touched her nose with his finger, his voice taking on a tone of mock sobriety:

"Now, stop laughing. How on earth can one do this properly if you're laughing? "

Sally covered her mouth with her hands, giggling harder. He shook his skull.

"No, no, no... Come on! Pretend you're scared of it! I'd love that!" They both laughed at this and embraced under the blanket, falling into a deep kiss. Zero whined in his basket. He turned toward the wall. The door screamed.

"Hrm.", growled Jack. "I can't say as I'm all together surprised. To be continued, yes?"

"But I waaant you...", Sally whimpered, before heaving a conciliatory sigh. Jack kissed her forehead.

"I suppose I need to get dressed before attending to whomever that is." He left the bed with some reluctance and set about pulling on his suit. Sally watched him for a moment, before rising from the bed herself.

"Who is it love? Can you see?", Jack asked.

Sally crept toward the tall windows, peeking through a split in the curtain.

Her voice caught in her throat.

"It's Dr. Finklestein.", she said. Sally backed away from the window and sat nervously on the edge of the bed. Seated there, wearing only a pair of panties, her hair cloaking her arms and back, she looked particularly small and vulnerable. Jack worked his arms into the sleeves of his suit jacket.

"You stay inside. I'll go speak with the Doctor."

Sally shook her head. She pulled on a threadbare camisole, then reached for a dress and socks. "I'll come with you. It's about me."

"Sally, Dr. Finklestein hasn't come all the way over here before. If he's here this morning..."

"Then he wants to take me. I know that, Jack. I'm not going with him, but I don't want to hide." She nodded, adding: "The Pumpkin Queen can't hide."

Jack gave her a gentle smile.

Dr. Finklestein waited by the screeching wrought iron gate. He'd sent one of the musicians to ring the bell, as Jack's front steps were hardly wheelchair accessible. A short time later, Jack emerged from the house. The old man's recalcitrant creation held fast to Jack's hand, following a half-step behind him. The doctor smiled as the pair approached.

"Well, well. However did you accomplish it Jack? An unexpected sojourn to the human world?"

"I'm sorry?", Jack asked.

"The heart!", Dr. Finklestein insisted. "It's not perfect, a little bloated due to water, but there's no severe damage or malformation. You did well, my boy, I must say."

"To what heart are you referring?", Jack asked in confusion.

The old man's smile disappeared. His face took on a more typical peevish and impatient expression.

"The heart! The one you sent me - or left for me. Whichever."

"I didn't, Doctor.", stammered Jack.

"Well, it hardly crawled to my doorstep on its own! If you didn't send the heart, who did? There was no tag or marking. Just a tattered, soaked, cardstock box."

The group stood in silence, onlookers murmuring to one another about this latest surprising turn. The doctor spoke up once more. He waved his hand at Jack in a dismissive fashion.

"Fine. No matter. I have it. Therefore I have work to do. Good day, Jack."

"Wait!", Jack called. "Doctor! If you have a new heart, and you can fix your Jewel, then..."

He looked at the old man expectantly. Dr. Finklestein turned his wheelchair to face Jack and Sally once more. He clicked his tongue and exhaled.

"I'll have my Jewel. You'll have your Sally."

Jack grinned. The doctor turned his chair and buzzed away, driven to revive his female doppelganger as soon as possible. Sally pressed into Jack's ribs, weak with relief. He folded his arms tightly around her.

"I'll have my Sally.", he whispered to her. "You'll have your Jack."

The Pumpkin King and his soon to be queen retired to their house for the rest of the morning. Both were happy to continue the morning's diversions. It was only later, as they lay together in a warm afterglow, that the most obvious question reasserted itself.

"Where could it have come from? Someone helped us, clearly. But who?", Jack pondered. "I'd at least like to thank them, whoever they are."

"I would too.", said Sally. "Why wouldn't they want us to know?" Her voice trailed off. She suddenly had a strong suspicion to whom they owed this windfall.

That afternoon, Sally baked a dozen cookies. She used the candied spiders and chocolate chips as requested, and spooned melted chocolate and toffee in thin strings across the tops. Carrying her basket, she walked to the barren hillsides between the cemetery and the treehouse. Facing the rickety structure, she sat and waited to be found. It didn't take long. Lock, Shock and Barrel peered from their arboreal home.

"What's she doing out there all alone?", Barrel asked suspiciously. "This is a Jack trap! He wants us to go mess with her. Then he'll get us!" Barrel pounded a fist into his open hand for emphasis.

Shock clocked the smaller boy on the head.

"A Jack trap? No way. Jack doesn't set traps, that's what we do! Why's Sally out there though? Definitely something's up."

Lock had nothing to contribute, but was at least as curious as his cohorts. They piled into their elevator.

Sally cast a nervous glance behind her, toward the more familiar ground of the cemetery and the town. As the three children marched closer, she wondered if this outing would prove to be a mistake on her part. Still, she remained calm, swallowing any outward evidence of trepidation.

"What're you doing here, Sally?", Shock asked. "You're kinda far from town, aren't ya?"

"Well, she's been here before!", Barrel teased. "But last time you came all the way up to our place! Oogie _loooved_ you!"

The trio laughed. Despite their apparent solidarity, Sally detected a trace of unease in Lock. She spoke.

"Lock, would it be possible to speak with you alone? Just for a moment?" Her voice was kind.

"Uh-uh, no way!", Shock said before Lock had a chance to answer. "We three stick together! If you want to talk to Lock, you talk to all of us! Right guys?"

Barrel nodded emphatically.

Sally didn't say a word in response, only shifted her placid gaze to the devil child.

"Yeah.", he managed.

Sally nodded. She stood and walked away. The trio scrambled in her wake.

"What? She's just leavin'! Hurry! Let's get her!", Barrel chirped. Shock yelled back:

"Get her?! Hellooo, she's Jack's girlfriend! If we 'get' her, Jack'll come looking, then we'll have to deal with him! Let's go back inside, it's gonna rain."

"I'll handle this. I'm gonna go tell Sally to leave us alone and never come back this way again.", Lock said, his voice decisive. You guys stay here."

"Why?", asked Shock and Barrel in unison. Lock thought fast.

"Because, that way if anybody catches me talking to her, they can't accuse us of ganging up on Jack's girl, right? Plus, you guys can keep watch in case Barrel was right and this is a trap."

Barrel stuck his chest out with pride that his theory was being taken seriously. Shock however, remained incredulous.

"Barrel's never right!", she snapped. Lock was already trotting away from them, following Sally. He hoped his companions weren't behind him. To his immense relief, they were not. Over the crest of a hill at the far edge of the pumpkin patch, he caught up with Sally.

"Wait! Wait up! What'd you want Sally?"

"Where are your friends?", she asked.

"They stayed back there. I told them to. What did you want?"

Sally reached under the linen cloth which covered her basket. She produced the bag of cookies. Lock's face lit up.

"You made me cookies? Alright! What'd you do this for Sally? I didn't help ya."

Sally shrugged.

"No, but you tried. Jack said that you honestly wanted to help. It wasn't your fault that the heart was no good."

"So you just made me these. For what? For trying?", Lock asked. She nodded.

"That's all. Just for trying."

Lock grinned.

"Cool! I didn't know I didn't even have to do anything and people would give me stuff!"

Sally smiled.

"Well, uh...thanks...for the cookies.", Lock said again. "But, there was the other thing too. The other thing I asked for."

"That I not tell anyone? I haven't told a soul, Lock. That's why I asked to talk to you alone."

"Yeah, oookay...that too. Good. Um, there was something else. Do I get that too? I mean, if you're offering..."

"Are you asking, Lock?"

He shrugged, an easy smile crossing his face.

"Sure."

Shock and Barrel busied themselves taking a roughshod inventory of their weaponry. It seemed a wise thing to do, just in case Jack was indeed planning some sort of attack. Shock scratched hash-marks on a crumpled sheet of paper while Barrel moved assorted spears, maces, and hammers from one side of the treehouse to the other. At long last, the elevator rope twitched. It was Lock, signaling that he needed a ride up. Shock lowered the cage.

"You said you'd be right back! I was pretty sure that Jack must have gotten you! Hey, what'd she do to you? You're...weird looking."

"Ew Lock, what happened? Your cheeks are all pink!", asked Barrel.

Lock could think of no suitable answer.


	16. Thank You

1_Okay, only one more chapter to go after this_.

Sally couldn't help but laugh to herself as she started towards town. She'd barely pecked him, just brushed her lips to his, but Lock had turned the color of her hair. One of her obligations met, the future Pumpkin Queen had one more stop to make.

"Hello?", Sally called. She didn't shout. The water amplified her voice enough to be heard. After waiting several minutes with no reply, Sally knelt down by the lake side, placing her basket beside her. She patted the green, liquid surface, causing small ripples. At last, the Fishgal surfaced, somewhat startled.

"Sally? I wouldn't have thought it was you. You're rarely by the lake alone."

"Did you give Dr. Finklestein the heart?", Sally asked. The creature blinked slowly.

"Why would you think such a thing?", she asked.

"The doctor said that the heart was bloated from water. I just thought that maybe..." She fell silent for a moment, then tried again. "Did you?"

"You _are_ a little bit smart, aren't you? I was right about that.", the Fishgal declared.

"Thank you for what you did.", Sally said. She looked down into her lap. "Thank you so much. We didn't know what we were going to - "

The creature stopped her.

"It isn't an impossible thing for me, you know. Such things end up in lakes and rivers, you have no idea. I found a head last November. That was a lucky day. I told everyone about it."

"Thank you.", Sally said again, this time looking up. She moved to touch the Fishgal's transparent hand, but held back, sensing that despite it all, they were not that close just yet. Fishgal spoke again:

"I'll bet you want to ask why I helped you. The witches don't know that I did. They could have helped if they had wanted to. Magic can do a great deal. It would have been less work for them even than it was for me. But...", she lowered her voice and leaned in. Sally pressed forward over her knees. The Fishgal continued:

"There are some who were happy to let the old man take you, just so that Jack would remain alone. I however, want Jack to be happy. He won't ever be happy if he's not with you, so...there you are." Finishing this statement, she pulled back with a firm nod. Sally sat up again.

"I see. You're a good friend to Jack. I'm glad."

"I'm a good friend, yes, but you're much more, and he needs you."

"I love him more than anything. I hope you know that. It isn't about becoming the queen, or living in his house, or any of those things that people say."

"I'm certain that's true.", said the Fishgal, her strange voice matter-of-fact. "I've seen you two here by the lake."

"Ooh.", Sally breathed. She looked down once more, her cheeks growing warm. It would seem that the lakeside was not the best choice for private canoodling.


	17. Epilogue

_Alrighty kids, this here is the end. I hope you like it. Thank you for reading and reviewing. It's bittersweet finishing a fic, especially a lengthy one. It's nice to have it complete, but I miss interacting with you guys about nmbc stuff. In any case, I have a minor query for anyone in the mood to give an opinion. The details are in my profile. Thanks again!_

_PS: Argh, this file manager! I had little rows of tildes in-between the parts of this epilogue, but the file manager doesn't recognize them. Thus, this looks much prettier on my word processor than it does here. Sorries. _

_EPILOGUE:_

And just like that, talk in Halloweentown changed from Sally's impending dissection, to the upcoming wedding. Even the Mayor's flagged interest in the whole endeavor saw some rejuvenation. He would be front and center, performing the ceremony after all. He'd never officiated at a wedding and was as always highly in favor of something new for his resume. The majority of the ghoulish citizenry viewed the event as a most peculiar and curious spectacle. Whether or not they completely understood its implication, few objected to free food and a party.

Dr. Finklestein wrote a letter, tersely worded but no less binding. It was his admission in writing that he no longer desired any claim to Sally. The letter arrived one windy afternoon, some weeks after the delivery of the heart. Standing in the the kitchen, Sally slowly read the missive aloud. She giggled when she came to the line:

"_Jack is free to do whatever he wants with, or to, my former creation_."

Jack winced and set down his teacup.

"Why that's a terrible thing for him to put it! Gracious!"

"It's what we wanted, isn't it?", Sally laughed. She topped off Jack's tea with a small copper teapot.

"Yes, but... That doesn't sound very good.", he said.

Standing behind his chair, Sally lay her head on Jack's skull. She crossed her arms around his boney shoulders.

"I don't mind. But, I don't think you should do anything to me by the lakeside."

"Duly noted.", agreed Jack.

The Fishgal wasn't certain if Sally had told Jack about the heart. She hadn't asked her not to. As a light rain fell across the square one evening, Jewel could be seen, hurrying the doctor along in his wheelchair. It was the first time she'd been out in weeks. The strange couple hurried past, and for a moment Fishgal's gaze met Jack's. He smiled at her and mouthed his thanks. She nodded in response, feeling a distinct warmth inside. She'd never known anything quite like it before. It felt _nice_. Not quite enough to keep one cozy all night, or to extinguish every ember of wistfulness, but still. It was nice. She'd done something that not everyone would have, and she'd made others happy. As the warmth began to subside, Fishgal wondered if it would ever come back. It did, not quite two years later, when she had almost forgotten the feeling entirely. It welled forth in her clammy soul as she watched an unusually anxious Jack help his enormously pregnant wife up the stairs to their house.

Lock, Shock and Barrel didn't attend the wedding. Shock declared it "boring", and the boys offered no argument. Barrel couldn't have cared less either way. Lock shrugged it off. As he lay in his bed, listening to unfamiliar music float over the hillsides into the treehouse, he wished he had someone to whom he could brag. He had kissed the Pumpkin Queen. Lock would have been even more impressed with himself, had it occurred to him that Jack was the only other person who could claim such a thing.

_END_


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